Insanity's Slip
by Boejangles
Summary: When Naruto was one he was adopted into the Uchiha household. When he is five years old his older brother Sasuke goes a little crazy and almost everyone ends up dead. His eldest brother runs away. And he is left to survive with Sasuke, who isn’t quite him
1. Prolouge

**Insanity's Slip**

By Boejangles

Summary: When Naruto was one he was adopted into the Uchiha household. When he is five years old his older brother Sasuke goes a little crazy and almost everyone ends up dead. His eldest brother runs away. And he is left to survive with Sasuke, who isn't quite himself all the time.

* * *

Sasuke stood there trembling covered in blood. He turned and looked at the older teen. "You! You did this!"

The older one stood unmoving staring back at the younger one without saying a word.

Naruto took a few steps forward, "Aniki stop, please just stop!" He ran and grabbed a hold of Itachi's legs. "Help, stop Aniki." He was almost pleading.

Itachi looked down at his adopted brother and then over at Sasuke, "I'm leaving."

"No! Don't go. Don't leave me." Naruto grabbed harder onto Itachi's legs.

"You! You were working with him weren't you!" Sasuke screamed grabbing the blonde hair and yanking back.

Naruto fell forward catching himself with his hands. His five year old frame shook, "No, no Aniki. Please just stop."

Sasuke kicked the smaller boy in the gut, "Shut up! Shut up you don't know anything! He killed our parents and you go to him for help! Traitor!" He kicked him again.

Naruto clutched his stomach, "No. No Aniki. Just stop. Don't hurt anyone else, please stop hurting people."

The dark-haired boy yanked the smaller one up and shoved him against the wall. "I haven't hurt anyone! It was Itachi that did it!" He moved to motion to his older brother only to notice that he wasn't there anymore. "Look at that! You let him get away! You let our parents murder get away!" He slapped the blonde hard enough to knock him to the ground.

"No! No! You did it." Naruto started crawling away before stumbling to his feet and running as fast as he could, "Don't kill me!"

Naruto fell backwards after running into someone. He quickly shielded his face, "Please don't kill me!"

"It's okay, we're ANBU, we are here to help." A man in a black cape and a mask spoke.

Naruto looked up and grabbed onto the man, "Help me, my brothers crazy!"

"It's okay you are safe now." The man in the wolf mask looked around.

A man wearing a hawk mask rushed over, "There was another survivor, he's in the other room. He is suffering from emotional trauma but should be fine. He has identified the killer. It was Itachi."

The one in the wolf mask rubbed the blonde's back, "It's okay you are safe from your brother now, we will catch him."

"No. No. No." Naruto shook his head back and fourth furiously.

"Its okay calm down, you are safe."

The small boy kept shaking, _'that's not the brother I'm scared of'_

* * *

That Saturday was the funeral. The numbers of the Uchiha had already been reduced from the Kyuubi attack. Over fifty of the most important members of the clan died after being poisoned during a clan meeting, the clan head was also killed during that incident. Almost everyone else was caught in the violent explosions that nearly took out the whole Uchiha district. Only three bodies were found that were brutally murdered and chopped up. The clan heads wife, his sister, and brother-in-law.

Naruto stood with his head bowed hand to his face wiping away his tears as the speaker continued talking about how good the people had been. Besides him was his seven year old brother Sasuke, who was looking at the coffins that were getting ready to be buried.

The blonde sniffed and tried wiping his face clean as the funeral ended.

"Come on." The voice besides him spoke. Naruto looked up and saw his brother. "We should get home." The raven-haired boy moved his hand onto the smaller ones back and started walking lightly pushing the other one along.

They had been given a very nice apartment to live in, since the Uchiha district was considered unsafe to live in. So they had gathered what wasn't ruined in the fire and took it with them. They had inherited enough to buy all new furniture and live comfortably.

Naruto looked up at his older brother. He was still in a state of shock; Sasuke had been acting like nothing happened since the morning after the massacre. He was still frightened by him, but tried not to act to weird. The last thing he wanted to do was aggravate his brother, so best thing to do was play along and try to deal with everything he was going through by himself.

"Okay," He answered quietly and walked besides the older boy and slightly behind.

"I am going to talk to the Hokage tomorrow about getting you into the academy. I know it's a year early, but better safe then sorry if Itachi comes back." Sasuke said still looking forward.

'_Does he actually believe?' _Naruto sighed, "Okay, if that's what you want."

The older boy whirled around, "What? You don't want to go to the academy? You don't want to be safe from Itachi? You don't want to kill him for what he did?"

The blonde's eyes widened, "Oh, no! I mean yes! I mean I want to go." He finished off quietly.

"Alright, good." Sasuke gave a nod before turning and opening the apartment door. "You should really clean this place up to. I'm busy at the academy to have to come home cook for you and clean up everything."

"Yes, I'll get on it. I'm sorry."

So, the next week Naruto started the academy a year early from the normal six. And within three months Sasuke had convinced the Hokage to bump him up to where he was in Sasuke's class so that he could help with the younger ones studies.


	2. Chapter One

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter One**

By Boejangles

* * *

It had been five years since the Uchiha Massacre, as it later became known as. In a week the genin exams were being held. Which is why the twelve-year-old Sasuke was trying his best to make sure his ten-year-old brother would pass.

Naruto had troubles all through out the academy, some teachers blamed it on his emotion problems and stress, others blamed it on the demon and said he was just and idiot.

"Okay, practice the clone again." Sasuke said from where he sat looking at the blonde.

"I'm trying, I'm just really fidgety."

"Well then calm down and try again. You have to pass. If you don't, then they will hold you back and then there is no way that we will be on the same squad. And I have tried to hard for this for you to screw it up. So just try harder. You aren't that stupid are you. It's not that hard. You just aren't doing your best."

Naruto chopped his jaw down and closed his eyes. He didn't know if his brother knew that his words just added more stress or if he did it on purpose. He took in a breath and counted to ten in his head. "Bunshin no Jutsu"

There was a pop and some smoke. He peeked open and eye to see. There was a clone but it looked like it was already dead. He sighed and it puffed out of existence.

"Damn it! Cant you do any better then that?" Sasuke shook his head agitated, "Here watch." He made the hand seals and two clones puffed into being. "See, simple. Do it again."

The younger one took a breath to calm him and then tried again with the same miserable results.

"Gah! You idiot! You cant do anything right! I bet you screw up just to make me made." Sasuke slapped the younger boy. "Try it again. Stay out here till you can get it right." With that he turned and walked into the building leaving his brother in the backyard.

Naruto stood there until the door closed and then fell to his knees and started crying. He was trying his hardest. He just couldn't get it right. No matter how many times he tried or how calm he tried to be before hand, it always turned out the same. A ruin.

He stood up and took a deep breath. He tried to ignore when his brother was a little mean now and then, it was better then when he had his violent days. Or when Naruto really screwed up and got his brother mad, that never turned out good.

When he was six he tried running away to find Itachi, but Sasuke had found him and took him back home. After that he had to stay home from the academy for over a week to heal and never tried leaving home again.

Over time he told himself something was wrong with his big brother and needed his help. Sometimes he helped as being a breathing punching bag during 'spars'. He never learned why his brother did what he did. But every time he brought up the event from when he was five, Sasuke would get angry and storm out, come back late, and he would end up having to 'spar' for hours until he couldn't get back up or he was knocked out.

Naruto started walking out of the yard, he knew he shouldn't disobey his brother, but he also knew no matter how long he tried to create a clone it wouldn't work. So he decided to go somewhere to calm down and try and relax.

He walked into the ramen shop and smiled at the owner, "Hey old man!"

"Oh, hi there Naruto. You haven't been in here in a while."

"Sorry, I have been kinda busy getting ready for the genin exams coming up."

"Oh is that right. They're tomorrow aren't they?"

"Yup!" Naruto cheered happily even though part of him was dreading it. He smiled up at the owner as he dug into his bowl of ramen.

"What happened to your eye?" The man asked from behind the counter.

"Oh, hehe, I must have just got hurt training." The blonde laughed it off and took his second bowl. "I'll take this to go, thanks!"

"No problem!" The owner said to the retreating back of the boy.

* * *

Naruto sat on the swing pushing himself with his feet as he took another bite of ramen. He came here when he needed to be by himself. It just seemed to calm him. He sighed looking over at the academy. Tomorrow was the big day.

"What are you doing here." Naruto jumped at the voice, he knew that voice. He looked up to see his brother standing in front of him. "I thought I told you to practice your clones. Plus I never gave you permission to leave the yard."

"I'm not a little kid anymore. I can look out for myself. I don't need you always hovering over me." Almost as soon as he said the words he was pushed backwards off the swing and fell onto his back.

"Shut up! You do need me. Now we are going back home." Sasuke grabbed a hold of the smaller boys arm and started dragging him; until he was able to get onto his feet and jog behind to catch up.

"Ow, you are hurting me. Let go." Naruto pulled on his arm.

The raven-haired boy only pulled on his arm harder, "No, you should have known better then to leave the yard when I had told you to do something."

"I'm sorry, I am, really just let go."

"Fine." He pulled the younger boy in front of him. "Keep walking."

Naruto sighed to himself and kept walking in the direction of their apartment. After a few minutes of walking they were there. He opened the door and stepped aside to let his brother in.

"Just get inside and close the door." Sasuke ordered. When the door was closed he whirled around and faced the smaller boy, "So, if you have time to go around town show me your perfect clone."

"I cant." Naruto said looking at the ground.

"Why cant you?"

"I just cant, it doesn't work."

"That's why I told you to practice, so that you could do it. I am giving you the count of three to create a proper clone. One."

Naruto fidgeted and did the hand seal trying to concentrate.

"Two."

He gulped and then focused as hard as he could.

"Three."

There was a poof and there lying on the floor was a very screwed up clone.

"Run."

"But, please you don't understand." Naruto tried to reason.

"Run."

"Please."

"Run."

Naruto took off running as fast as he could. He slid around the corner and then jumped the stairs three at a time. He went as fast as he could down the hallway and into his room slamming the door shut and throwing the lock. Not a second later there was a bang at the door.

Naruto slid down the door as he heard foot steps walk away. He got up and went into his closet, tying the rope from the door handle to the hook attached to the ceiling.

He waited being as quiet as he could and listened. He heard a click, then the door opening and footsteps coming inside. He closed his eyes tight and wished it all to go away. It was his fault; he shouldn't have made him angry.

The smaller boy jumped when the closet door was pulled. "Come out, come out. Let's play a game." The blonde started shaking, he hated when his brother got like this. It didn't happen as often as when they were younger, but lately it was slowly getting worse. "Come on, you aren't scared now are you? Come out. Come on, open the door."

The rope pulled and shifted but didn't give. _'Please hold, please hold, please hold. If there is a God up there please help me. Please help my brother; he needs you. I don't know what is wrong with him, but please help him.'_ The ropes shifted again and the door opened slightly before snapping shut again. _'Please oh please oh please hold'_

"Come on little brother, I thought you liked out games. So just come out and play." Sasuke pushed against the door jamming a kunai in the slit to pry it open. He slammed against it again shifting the rope and getting the door to open and inch before shoving the kunai in.

Naruto pulled his knees closer to his chest. "Please, please just go away." He whispered. His head shot up as the rope snapped loose and the door swung open. "Ahh!" He tried to shoot past his brother and get out of the closet.

"No you don't." Sasuke grabbed his shirt and stopped the escape attempt. "Come on, I did my part of the game its time for yours."

"I don't want to play Sasuke. I don't want to play any games tonight." He struggled to try and get out of the grasp.

"What happened to Aniki? And I want to play the game." He pushed down and kicked making the smaller boy tumble onto the ground.

"I'm sorry Aniki, I'm sorry. I'll listen, I promise. I'm sorry." He started mumbling as quickly as he could crawl backwards trying to get some distance between them.

The dark-haired boy kicked out, landing a solid blow to the smaller ones ribs, which earned a yelp. "Oh come on aren't you having fun?"

The blonde pulled his arms in front of him to protect him from the blows. "No, please stop." The plea only earned him another kick.

"Fine, I'll stop. I need you to be in top condition tomorrow. So, get some sleep." Sasuke turned, stepped over the younger boy and walked out of the room shutting the door.

"Nyghhh." Naruto rolled onto his side clutching his ribs. He closed his eyes yelling at himself not to cry, to just get up and get to bed. He moved to get up, but just ended up rolling tighter into himself. _'Thanks God, thanks for looking out for the little guy.' _

He ended up staying on the floor for the next thirty minutes before trying to get up again. He shifted and made his way to the bed and laid down looking over and the dresser and knowing he should change.

He reached for the top drawer picking out a big blue shirt and setting it on the bed. He pulled off his black pants and started peeling off his orange shirt when there was a knock on his door. He froze and looked over at the door.

"Hey just me, I wanted to make sure you got to bed on time cause of the exam tomorr…hey what happened to your side?" Sasuke asked standing in the doorway.

Naruto sighed and finished pulling off his shirt before pulling on the blue one. _'He's back.'_ He looked over at the door, "Oh, its nothing, I'll be fine."

"Sure you don't want to get some ice on it? Tomorrow's the big day."

"Naw, you know me. I'm a quick healer, I will be fine by morning." He smiled. "I think we should both get some sleep."

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I'll leave you then. See you in the morning. Sleep well." Sasuke turned and shut the door heading down the hall.

Naruto sighed and fell back against the bed closing his eyes. _'I never know which Sasuke I'm going to get, if it will be my Aniki, or that monster'_ He sighed again turning off the lamp and getting under his covers.

* * *

A/N: Sorry, but these chapters are going to be shorter for this story then my other story. But hopefully everyone likes the story so far. Leave a review and tell me what you think. 


	3. Chapter Two

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Two**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto glanced up from his bowl of cereal at his brother that was running around the kitchen like a chicken with it head cut off. He knew that he was nervous, but if he was nervous about the test or Naruto failing the boy didn't know. He sighed and looked back down at his bowl. Lately he had been contemplating purposely failing.

"Alright you ready to go?" Sasuke asked, effectively breaking the blonde out of his thoughts.

"Yeah." Was the simple reply as he put the bowl in the sink and slipped his shoes on. The house was kept way too clean for his liking, but that's the way it had been since it was just the two of them.

* * *

"Alright, we have practiced really hard. We can do this okay?" The raven-haired boy assured the younger of the two as they took their seats.

"Okay, yeah." He looked over at his Aniki and then down at his hands. He didn't want to be put on the same team as him. But he couldn't just outright purposely fail; he had to make it look like he tried. Or else his brother would be made.

Naruto took out a pencil as the written part of the test was passed out. He stole a glance at Sasuke and then concentrated at his paper. _'Okay, I cant just turn it in blank. Think. Think. All right just answer the worse possible answers you can think of. Yeah that should do it.' _

Soon they were led outside for shurukin testing.

Naruto watched as his brother scored a perfect before he was called up. He looked at his brother from the corner of his eye. He through the first and missed the target completely.

"Its okay Naruto, take a breath and calm down. Don't be so nervous." Iruka encouraged.

Naruto took a breath and caught sight of Sasuke about ready to have a panic attack. The blonde closed his eyes and then threw another kunai hitting the edge of the target. He threw the last one and hit more towards the center and off to the left.

"Very good Naruto. Alright class we are moving back inside for the last part of the test."

Naruto followed his head down until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I know you are going to pass the next part." Sasuke said with a confident smirk.

"But I still can't do the clone."

"Don't worry, just relax and do your best."

* * *

Naruto waited for his turn to go back playing his fingers along the desk. This is where he was going to fail. He couldn't do the clone, and he knew that he couldn't. They would have to fail him. Then Sasuke would move on and he would be put on a team next year.

He watched as Sasuke came out holding his forehead protector with a smirk.

"Good job Aniki!" Naruto smiled before standing up knowing he was next.

"Alright, just do your best okay."

"Alright." Naruto nodded walking into the back room.

"Okay Naruto, I want you to henge into someone." Iruka prompted.

"Okay." Naruto nodded and made the proper seals and before even thinking said "Henge" There standing in front of them was the exact replica of Itachi from five years ago.

Iruka went wide eyed, "O…okay good." Naruto dropped the henge. "Alright now create three clones."

The blonde took a deep breath _'alright here goes and I am home free'_. He made the hand seals and then there was a loud poof and then smoke. _'Wait a minute'_

There standing next to him were three perfect clones. "Good Naruto! You pass! Congratulations!" Iruka handed him a Konoha forehead protector.

'_But I never finished the Jutsu'. _Naruto thought dumbly taking the piece of metal and cloth before walking out of the room. He was really confused.

"See I told you it was no problem," Sasuke smirked.

"Did you?" The blonde finally put all the pieces together.

Sasuke had been standing right outside the door and made the clones and henged them to look like Naruto.

"I had to, I knew you couldn't. But hey you passed." He smiled patting the other ones shoulder.

'But I didn't want to' He forced a smile, "Yeah I passed." They left after Iruka announced that they were to come back after the weekend for group assignments and meeting their team.

* * *

"I'm proud of you, you did good." Sasuke said taking a different route then they normally took. "I think you deserve a treat, how about some ramen?"

Naruto smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that." It was really hard to get used to the nice Sasuke so soon after the mean one. Then there was always the distant Sasuke, that's the one he was most often.

They ate their ramen in quiet before heading home.

* * *

It was late Saturday afternoon. Naruto was sitting in the empty bathtub rocking back and fourth slightly staring at the wall in front of him.

Sasuke had been looking everywhere for Naruto, but couldn't find him anywhere. He knocked on the upstairs bathroom door. There was no answer so he opened the door. "There you are! I have been looking everywhere why didn't you answer my calls…oh my god are you okay?" He asked frantically noticing that he was covered in blood and staring off at nothing.

Sasuke rushed forward when he noticed the blonde unresponsive. "Hey look at me." He slapped him lightly trying to get eye contact.

Naruto blinked and turned towards Sasuke but his eyes were still kind of distant. Sasuke frowned, but couldn't find an injury on the boy, but there was so much blood. He looked down in the bathtub and noticed the bunny.

It was a brown bunny with gray speckles, but was now almost completely red. It had what looked like gauze and tape wrapped around it, but it was most certainly dead. He then realized the blonde was covered in the rabbit's blood. It must have bled almost completely dry.

Sasuke looked in shock at his brother, "What did you do! Why'd you kill him! Why'd you kill freckles?!" The bunny had been there pet for the past two years.

Naruto's eyes snapped to life as he looked at the older boy, "I didn't do it! I was trying to save him. But he was dead before I could do anything. I tried anyways, but he wouldn't come back! I couldn't save him!" Tears were streaming down his face as he looked back at the bunny that he had bandaged the already dead body.

"You didn't do it? Then who the hell did it!" Sasuke screamed very angry.

"I didn't do it, it was the monster!"

"Monster? I am supposed to believe this? I am tired of your lies!"

* * *

**Three hours earlier**

Naruto was playing with Freckles and laughing. Sasuke had gone out to train and he was left to do what he wanted as long as he stayed in the house. He shot his head up when his bedroom door opened.

"Oh hey, I thought you were out training."

"I was." Sasuke answered walking closer.

"Oh okay, I was just playing with the bunny before starting lunch."

"Aren't you a little old to be playing around and wasting time?" Sasuke said taking a step closer.

"Well you have to play around once in awhile." Naruto smiled. But his expression suddenly changed when he noticed the knife in his brother's hands. "Aniki what are you doing?" He asked scooting backwards.

"I am going to remove the distraction." He said grabbing the rabbit by the scruff of its neck and pulling up the blade.

"No! Don't!" Naruto screamed jumping to his feet and running forward. He stopped when blood splattered on his face and he went wide-eyed. The knife had gone down into the rabbit shooting blood out. The blonde almost went into a state of shock as Sasuke ripped out the blade pulling it up again ready for another strike. "NO!"

Naruto tried to block the knife but was only cut before it entered the rabbit spraying him with blood again. "Stop please stop! You are going to kill it!" Tears were making there way down his face, "Don't do this stop please!"

Sasuke didn't listen as he pulled out the knife and stabbed it down again. The blonde tried to grab the knife but was only cut deeply before he pulled his hand back. Cradling it in his other hand. "Please please stop. No more please." Naruto clutched his eyes shut.

"No. Watch." When the knife met Naruto's cheek his eyes shot open to see the bunny stabbed again. He was forced to watch unable to do anything as his pet was stabbed over and over and sliced up. He was unable to move, each time he asked his brother to stop or moved to take the bunny he was cut. By the time Sasuke had stopped the younger boy was covered in blood, some of his own but mostly the bunnies.

The older boy threw the dead rabbit at the sobbing boy before turning and leaving. Naruto rushed to the bathroom trying to stop the bunnies bleeding not wanting to believe that it was had long ago died.

* * *

**Current Time**

Sasuke slapped the boy, "Don't lie to me! There is no such thing as monsters. You did this didn't you!"

Naruto was shaking his head back and fourth, "No! No! I didn't do it; it wasn't me! It was the monster, the monster did it."

The raven-haired boy grabbed the younger one's blonde locks and yanked him out of the tub. "You are covered in blood, your clothes are soaked with it and now you tell me that you didn't kill Freckles but that it was some monster. LIAR!" Sasuke screamed.

"I didn't do it" Slap. "It want me" Slap. "I swear, I'm not the one that did it. IT WAS YOU!" Punch. Bang. Towel rack falls over. Kick. Slap. Knock out.

Sasuke stood furious that the bunny killer had the nerve to say he did it when he had been out training all day. He kicked the unconscious blood covered blonde and left the bathroom slamming the door.

* * *

Naruto woke up later that night and scrubbed the blood off him like it was a disease. He scrubbed till his skin was raw. He put the bunny in a shoebox and wrote 'Freckles' on the top in a permanent marker. He then buried it in the backyard.

Even when he got into bed that night he still felt like he was covered in blood.

* * *

Monday rolled around without any more problems. Iruka was in the front of the class reading out teams.

Naruto was still shook up over everything and was staring at his desk like it was the cause for all his problems.

"And Team Seven is Uchiha Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team leader Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto suddenly became much more depressed and didn't respond when Sasuke patted his shoulder happily.

"Alright everybody, go eat lunch and you will meet up with your team leaders when lunch is over." Iruka announced.

* * *

A/N: And The reason Naruto doesn't tell the Hokage was explained in the last chapter, its because he feels he is needed to help save Sasuke, he just doesn't know how. Alright review and tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter Three

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Three**

By Boejangles

-/-

_Monday rolled around without any more problems. Iruka was in the front of the class reading out teams. _

_Naruto was still shook up over everything and was staring at his desk like it was the cause for all his problems. _

"_And Team Seven is Uchiha Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team leader Hatake Kakashi." _

_Naruto suddenly became much more depressed and didn't respond when Sasuke patted his shoulder happily. _

"Alright everybody, go eat lunch and you will meet up with your team leaders when lunch is over." Iruka announced.

* * *

Naruto tapped his fingers against the desk waiting for their Jounin instructor to show up, Sasuke was leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling impatiently, and Sakura was sitting on the table in front of the two boys.

"You okay Naruto?" Sakura decided to ask after the boy shot another glance at the door. She had decided to play the big sister role for two reasons. One, he was Sasuke's little brother and being close to him meant being close to Sasuke no matter how you look at it. Two, he had always been the baby of the class and seemed so innocent and kind.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up at the pink haired girl as if walking up from a daze, "Oh yeah, I'm fine, just a little nervous." In truth he was petrified for two very different reasons. One was that he was now going to spend even more time around Sasuke and it was hard enough walking on eggshells at home. The second reason was that they would find out he had cheated on the exam and through him out where he could never be a ninja again.

They all turned as there attention was drawn to the opening door. A head full of silver hair poked in, "Yo. Meet me on the roof." And with that the head was gone again.

"I think that was out Jounin instructor," Sakura decided it was appropriate to state the obvious.

They made their way to the roof, Naruto sticking to the back and watching for signs in his brother for what his mood was.

Kakashi watched them walk in and sit down. "Alright, lets introduce ourselves shall we? Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, the basics." His eyes wandered over the three, "I am Hatake Kakashi and that's about all you need to know about me. Now you first pinky."

Sakura gave a small glare at their teacher but it disappeared as fast as it had come. "I'm Haruno Sakura, I like…many things, I dislike Ino-pig, my dream is to be as great as Tsunade of the Sanin and be seen in the eyes that I so want to see me, my hobbies, well there's a lot."

Kakashi caught her glances at Sasuke through her speech, _'Maybe she has her priorities a little mixed up, but he dream is understandable and can be worked with.'_ "Alright good, go" He pointed to Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like training and getting stronger, I dislike things that get in my way, and I don't have any hobbies, my dream is to bring honor to my clan by killing a certain man and reviving it to its former glory."

'_Bent on revenge, I was expecting this, but its different to actually hear it. Maybe I can change his mind. I wonder if the other one is walking the same road.'_ He looked at Naruto, "Alright, you go."

The blonde had been staring at the ground the entire time only stiffening when his brother stated his dream. He looked up at Kakashi and actually looked at him for the first time. His eyes widened, "I…it's you…" his voice trailed off as his mind relived the memory.

**Flashback**

_Naruto was shaking; the man in the wolf ANBU mask had grabbed him and carried him out of the building. He didn't want to leave the house even though it was on fire and likely to collapse, to the ANBU stopped trying to reason with the boy and just grabbed him._

_He was now sitting on the couch in the ANBU quarters while most were out looking for Itachi and the Hokage was busy trying to organize a plan and get the Uchiha district fires under control. _

_The man who had carried him here walked into the room. "Your brother has just finished telling us what had happened and will be in here shortly. Then we can find a place for you guys to stay." _

"_No…no don't send me away. I don't want to go it's not safe!" _

"_You are safe now, don't worry. There's no way that Itachi can get into Konoha alive." At the comment the blonde winced and began crying even harder. The ANBU took off his mask to better comfort the boy. When the mask was off there was a younger Kakashi with a black bandana covering his left eye. _

"_No! You don't understand! It's not safe, not safe at all. He'll kill me! I'm going to die if you send me away!" Naruto spoke through his sobs trying to wipe his face with his shirt. _

"_No ones going to hurt you. You are going to be safe okay? Nothing more is going to happen, you are going to be alright now." _

"_You just don't understand, you don't understand!" With that the door opened and Sasuke walked in. The blonde went quiet. Kakashi took it as a sign that the boy was comforted by his brother being there. _

"_Alright, I'll leave you two and go make arrangements for somewhere for you to live." _

**End Flashback**

Kakashi wondered how the boy had remembered him from five years ago, but then though the boy probably remembered everything about that night. "Yes, it is. Now will you introduce yourself?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," Naruto shook his head slightly, "My name is Uchiha Naruto, I like…sunshine, I dislike…darkness and yelling and blood, my hobbies are…" He paused much longer then the first two times. He was about to say playing with his pet, but then started reliving the memories of the bloody scene. He then had to think hard, he never really had time for hobbies he was always with Sasuke and when he wasn't he didn't do much but, "walking, my dream…is to find a place where the sun always shines."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and then slowly lowered it, he realized that the blonde was speaking in a type of code trying to say what he wanted but not wanting to say what he meant. _'Doesn't like blood and yelling, but wants to be a ninja? I can understand though there was a lot of blood when we found them that night. I see the Uchiha massacre affected him to, just in a different way. Which one is worse off I still am unsure.'_

"Okay, now that we all know each other I can tell you about the test tomorrow."

"What test?" Sakura asked not liking the sound of it.

"Oh simple survivals test really to see if you have what it takes to be genin." He was smiling at their expressions.

"But we already are genin," Sasuke said looking at the man with what appeared to be a calculating look or it could have been annoyance.

"Ah, not quite, you have been tested to see if you have a chance to be genin this will prove that you are or if you need to go back to the academy for more training." Then there was silence. Kakashi eyed the blond that had taken an interest in his own shoes.

"Meet me at training ground seven tomorrow morning at eight, and don't eat breakfast unless you want to puke it back up again." He grinned at the shocked expressions at least the two faces that were looking at him and then he puffed into smoke leaving the three to their own.

"Hey, Sasuke, Naruto, want to go get something to eat and get better acquainted." Sakura asked looking from one to the other and really hoping Sasuke would want to go.

Naruto lifted his head up with a smile and got ready to reply with 'I'd love to' but Sasuke had set his hand on the younger boys shoulder.

"No, me and Naruto need to do some training tonight, maybe another time." With that he stood up and beckoned the blonde to follow him. To which Naruto stood up and hurried after.

* * *

The next morning Naruto woke up at six like he always did, just like it was programmed into his brain. He pulled on the dark blue short-sleeved shirt and black pants that Sasuke had deemed necessary to get after he had made genin. Naruto would have been happy to stick with his more comfortable orange shorts and white shirt, but this outfit had more pockets and was less likely to be noticed.

He moved quietly down the stairs careful not to wake his brother that woke up at six thirty. Naruto sat at the couch and started reading a book on tactics that Sasuke had said would help his planning and help him pay attention. So he read it hoping to please his brother.

By six thirty his stomach was growling, he didn't think he could do the whole no breakfast thing. He looked at the stairs; his brother must just be waking up or still in the shower.

The blonde stood and moved to the kitchen, a small snack couldn't hurt anything their sensei had planned. He pulled out a pot and started boiling some water for ramen. He leaned against to counter and waited after he pulled out the instant ramen cup. He started thinking about how great it would be if there were a seal on the lid of the ramen so that when you took it off boiling water automatically filled the cup.

He laughed at the idea and turned when he heard the water boiling. Naruto poured the water into the ramen cup and moved to set the pot in the sink when he was shoved towards the stove from behind.

The startle from being pushed made him drop the pot and reach out to stop himself from falling without thinking. He grabbed onto the stovetop only to scream in pain as his hand met the burner and he pulled it away quickly.

"What are you doing?" It was a question but the voice held no question in it. Naruto turned around nursing his burnt hand and looked at the source of the voice.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, did I wake you?"

"No you idiot, but why are you cooking? We were told not to eat!" Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes and his eyes widened, he wasn't talking to his brother right now.

"I'm sorry I was hungry, I didn't think it would cause a problem."

"You didn't think, that's right you didn't think! You never think!" The dark eyes spotted the burnt hand and then held a flicker of something Naruto couldn't distinguish. Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed the younger ones wrist pulling his arm over the still lit stovetop. The blonde shouted in pain as the fire licked his arm.

"AH! Sasuke stop! It hurts! It's burning Sasuke stop! Please!" Naruto was viciously pulling on his arm trying to get it free from the hold keeping it at the flames.

"No. Stop struggling." His hold on the small wrist became stronger.

The blonde screamed louder, it felt like his skin was melting away. He yanked his arm harder, "AHH! Just let go! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, let go. It hurts it really hurts! AHHH!" No matter how hard he yanked Sasuke would just pull his arm back all he managed from fighting was burning a wider area on his arm.

Then Sasuke's words clicked, and he bit down hard onto hip lip and forced himself to stop moving his arm. It burnt and stung and hurt like hell, but he used all his will power not to move it.

The dark haired boy let go of the younger ones wrist. Naruto went to yank his arm back quickly when Sasuke reached out and grabbed the wrist again, "I didn't say you could move it yet." He let go of the small wrist again.

Naruto whimpered and his arm was trembling, but it stayed in the flame a few seconds longer.

"Fine. You're done." With that Naruto pulled his arm close trying to stop it from hurting so much. "So, are you still hungry?"

Naruto shook his head furiously in the negative.

"Good. Now go clean yourself up!"

Naruto ran up the stairs as fast as he could; glad to be away from the monster. He wished his brother could see what happened to him and stop doing this. He moved his arm under the cold water of the sink hoping to stop it from blistering, but it was mostly pointless. But he knew that he always healed quickly and knew that it would go away. However the pain was scarred into his mind like all the other times.

He wrapped up the burn gently not wanting to cause even more pain. The blonde then went back into his room to change his shirt. Opting for a long sleeved black shirt to hide the injury. This one would have been harder to explain that a bruise here or there or broken bones every once in awhile.

When he quietly made his way down stairs he looked for his brother not wanting to have another bad encounter.

"Oh there you are otouto, I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Sasuke said with a smile from the couch.

"Sorry Aniki, I guess I was just really tired last night." Naruto gave a small smile back, but his eyes were filled with pain, however Sasuke didn't notice.

* * *

**A/N: **Next Chapter, the bells test.

So, How does everyone like it so far? What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know.

If you are wondering, the idea for this comes from the movie 'Hide and Seek' and the book 'A Child called 'It''


	5. Chapter Four

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Four**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto stood next to the wooden training post fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves. Sasuke was sitting leaning against the post. They had arrived at seven and waited an hour before Sakura showed up right before eight. She was now leaning against the other training post occasionally trying to make conversation.

The blonde's mind was bouncing all over the place. From going over what happened this morning, to the test coming up, to how Kakashi had been the ANBU he tried to tell all those years ago. He glanced down at Sasuke and then let go of his sleeve deciding to sit down.

"So, it's amazing you both got on the same team, I mean being related and all." Sakura tried again at starting conversation.

"I was expecting it." Sasuke answered before the blonde said anything. The younger boy just stared at the grass in front of him deciding he didn't need to participate in the conversation.

"Oh really? I think we will make a great team. I mean you two already work perfectly together." Sakura chimed in again.

"Hn." Was the reply after the raven-haired boy decided he had said enough.

The silence carried on for a while before the pink haired girl couldn't take it. "Hey Naruto I like your new look."

"Thank you, Sasuke said it was better suited for a ninja." Naruto said looking over his outfit and began playing with the ends of the black shirt again, "You look nice too."

"Thank you." She leaned her head against the training post and took in the silence. It was another hour before there was much of any noise. It came in a popping noise and a puff of smoke.

"Yo." Kakashi smiled and gave a small wave.

"You're late, very late." Sakura said already annoyed at their teacher.

"Ah, I am sorry I was on my way here when a troll said I had to pay a toll to cross the bridge and I had left my wallet at home." This excuse was not believed. "Any how, lets get on with the test." He lifted up two bells that jingled slightly in the wind. "To pass, you must get one of these bells."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, only two passing. Then it could be just him and his brother with more serious training then if the girl weighed them down.

Naruto however was having very different thoughts, _'don't get the bell. Just don't get the bell and they will pass and I wont. Makes sense and sounds easy enough.'_

"But sensei, there's only two bells and three of us." Sakura said clearly not understand the dog eat dog of it all.

"Exactly Sakura, Which means that one of you will definitely fail and go back to the academy." He moved a timer and set it on the stump like training post. "You have three hours to get a bell, ready, go." With that all three ran off with different thoughts in their head.

* * *

'_Okay, this is easy, just make an attempt but make sure to fail. At least if I try Sasuke can't get made. All right you can do this. Just get out there and put on a show.' _Naruto took in a deep breath and got ready to run out of the bushes when a hand grabbed his shoulder. With the motion he was in along with being startled made him whirl around half way before landing on his backside.

"Sorry, get up." Sasuke crouched down next to the blonde and waited for him to sit up.

"What are you doing?" The younger boy asked with confusion in his blue eyes.

"You are going to be a distraction while I make an attack. So get out there and count to twenty and then get away."

"Uh, okay." Naruto said before getting upright and running out of the bushes towards Kakashi. _'Now what am I supposed to do? Grr.'_

Kakashi turned when he heard a branch snap and brought up his arm to block the oncoming kick. He raised an eyebrow when he saw it was Naruto. He didn't expect him to make the first attack after he said he didn't like violence.

'_One.'_ The blonde spun around to deliver another kick but was blocked again and thrown off. '_Two'_ Naruto got up off the ground and ran towards the gray haired man again. He threw two punches quick one towards the face that was blocked and one to the stomach that was caught.

Kakashi held onto the blonde's wrist, "Lesson one, taijutsu." He stopped when he noticed Naruto had clenched his teeth in what seemed to be pain from just the hold on his wrist. _'I'm not holding that hard, hmm, he must have injured it earlier.'_

Naruto took his sensei's momentary distraction and brought his other hand in a fist punching the older man's forearm and successfully freeing his other hand. _'Eleven'_ He pulled his hand close to him, '_Damn it the burn still hurts; I need to watch that' _

Kakashi pulled his arm back after having it hit and watched for the younger boy's movement. He moved to the side when a kick came aimed for his head. He moved quickly coming behind the blonde.

Naruto drew back his leg and spun around to face his sensei that was crouched down. _'Sixteen' _He jumped back to dodge a strange attack that had been in motion when he turned around.

Kakashi found the blonde's refluxes impressive as his thousand years of death missed. He jumped up and jumped back to prepare for an attack.

'_Nineteen.' _Naruto got ready run back into the trees when he had to block a kick from the gray haired man. _'Twenty.' _He jumped back before being pushed down by Kakashi. The force of the push sent him rolling. He stopped when he collided with a tree. When he opened his eyes he saw the last traces of the grand fireball technique. _'I…I could have been incinerated.' _He then noticed that Kakashi had used a replacement and was nowhere to be seen.

Sasuke cursed when he realized that he missed and Kakashi had gotten away. He looked around trying to find the gray haired ninja.

Kakashi looked down from his branch in the try. _'What was Sasuke thinking? Maybe he didn't see Naruto.'_ He looked and noticed Naruto still seemed to be in shock and Sasuke appeared to be looking for him. He moved away to find Sakura.

Naruto took in a breath and stood up before walking over to Sasuke. "You need to be more careful you almost hit me."

"Well I did tell you to get out of the way." The dark haired boy retorted.

"But still you didn't give me enough time."

"Are you saying this is _my_ fault?"

Naruto noticed something flash through his brothers eyes, "N…no Aniki not at all. It was my fault I wasn't fast enough."

"I thought so." Sasuke turned around and started walking, "Come on we have to find him again."

* * *

Sakura made her way through the bushes looking for anyone; she didn't know how she got herself so far from the group. She whirled around when she heard a snap. Kakashi was in the clearing to her left. It appeared he was coming towards her till Sasuke initiated combat.

She watched as her teammate and sensei sent hit after hit to each other. Her eye caught a black streak in the trees above before realizing it was Naruto. The blonde threw a series of shuriken at the gray haired ninja who dodged most of them and blocked the rest. The youngest boy then jumped down and joined the tussle against the oldest male.

Sakura watched as Kakashi turned to face both of them. She ran out from where she was to push Naruto down and tackle Sasuke out of the way as ten shuriken multiplied into a hundred.

Kakashi smirked to himself he was finally able to draw Sakura out of her hiding spot by using a simple illusion.

Sasuke grunted as the pink haired girl landed on top of him. He then noticed the shuriken above them and then watched as they disappeared. "Can you get off me now?"

Sakura blushed slightly before rolling to the side and getting up. She extended her hand to help him up too. As she did the timer went off.

Naruto smiled, but only to himself. He was still on the ground from where he was pushed, but had sat up. They had failed he had managed to fail.

"Well I think its clear the outcome of this test." Kakashi said looking at all them for a reaction. He watched as Sasuke got angry, Sakura looked sad, and Naruto looked blank. "You all…pass."

Naruto's eyes went wide, "Wh…What?"

"But sensei we didn't get the bells." Sakura added.

"Yes, but that wasn't the point of the test. The test was teamwork; which you all demonstrated by working together. So, you pass." Kakashi smiled at the three new genin.

Naruto stared at the ground before taking a breath and smiling, "You here that? We pass!" Sakura smiled too and Sasuke just smirked as if he had known the point of the test all along. "Hey Aniki, can we go get ramen?"

"Why don't we all go? My treat." Sakura suggested.

"Please?" Naruto added.

"Oh fine, lets go." Sasuke said giving in.

"You three go, but I have to go give my report." Kakashi said before puffing into smoke.

The three newly appointed genin made there way to the ramen stand.

* * *

Sasuke pushed his now empty bowl away from him as he stood up, "I am going to head home otouto. Be back before curfew. Thank you Sakura."

"Yes Aniki." Naruto said before going back to his second bowl.

"No problem Sasuke, maybe we could do it again some time." The pink haired girl said with a smile part of her wishing that this could be considered a date, but knowing it couldn't because Naruto.

"Maybe. Remember, home before curfew." Sasuke responded before turning and walking away.

"I will." The blonde answered.

Sakura turned and watched as Naruto ate another bowl, "How much do you eat?" she joked.

"Sorry, I can help pay." The younger boy offered.

"Naw, its fine. So, what's your curfew?"

"I just have to be home before the street lights come on. Its not a big deal."

"Oh, that makes sense. So do you have any plans for today?"

"No, not really." Naruto said looking up. He pushed the bowl away when he was done.

"Well I'm supposed to meet up with Ino and her team later, want to come along?" Sakura offered.

"No, I'll be fine. But thanks." He said before standing up.

"Okay, see you later then."

"Bye." Naruto turned and walked down the street. He was going to hang out on top the Hokage monument before heading back home.


	6. Chapter Five

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Five**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the railing on the Hokage monument. He was losing hope of ever seeing his brother again. _'Itachi, why did you leave? Why didn't you do anything before everyone thought you were a criminal?'_

"Come here to think?"

Naruto turned to look at who had spoken to him to see that it was the Hokage. "Yeah. It's been awhile, whatcha doing here?" The blonde asked. The Hokage had always checked in on him and Naruto felt like they could have been related.

"Oh just needed to get out of that office and thought a walk would do me good." He said with a smile, "How are you doing? Liking being a genin?"

"I'm doing alright." Naruto decided was a reasonable answer. "Our Jounin leader is nice too."

"That's good to hear. You come and tell me if anything ends up going wrong." Sarutobi said knowing that the young blood sometimes had problems with violence. He wasn't sure that the boy would make it as a ninja, but the kid's spirit and heart was one of a kind.

"Y…yeah I will." Naruto answered then gave a smile.

"I have something for you and Sasuke. It's a scroll that was saved from the fire. There are some more, but I will hold onto those until you two are ready. However I feel that you can handle this." He spoke while he pulled out a scroll. "There is also something special in there for you that I found the other night when I was looking for this. Hopefully you like it."

The blonde looked at the scroll slightly shocked, he hadn't known that any of the important documents had survived the fire. "Thank you. Thank you very much." Naruto spoke even though he was still kind of shocked.

"It's yours, but remember to share with your brother."

"I will, thank you again."

"I'm glad you like it. Now hurry on home." Sarutobi said and smiled watching the retreating back of the blonde.

* * *

Naruto closed his door and threw the lock before pulling the scroll out from under his shirt. He wanted to look at it first, plus part of him knew that once Sasuke saw it the thing would become his.

He untied the knot and opened it slowly wondering what was put in there especially for him. When it was opened he saw a white square. "Hmm?" He picked it up and flipped it over. A gasp left his mouth.

It was a picture. It was of him when he was three being held by the only mother he had only known. A tear fell from his cheek. He hadn't had a picture of her until now. He pulled the picture to his chest and hugged it.

"I miss you mommy." Naruto said softly before looking at the photo again. He took it and slid it under his pillow for safekeeping. A smile made its way to his face, "Thanks old man." He said to the air.

He turned back to the scroll to see what it was. It had techniques on it. He looked through it, there seemed to only be five written on it.

One- Fire Phoenix _'looks complicated, I'll leave that to Sasuke'_

Two-Fire Shuriken _'Hmm I think I can do that'_

Three-Grand Fireball _'Heh Sasuke can already do that one'_

Four-Fire Flicker _'Hmm this one looks interesting.'_ He read more _'with a flash of fire this technique distracts the users opponent while the user is able to hide'_

Five-Fire Clone _'Wow'_ Naruto's eyes went wide as he read on. This was the one he wanted to learn above all the others. This one he would make his own. He ripped off the end of the scroll and then rolled it back up hiding the piece of the scroll he wanted under his bed. He decided he also wanted to learn the other, but would do so with Sasuke. However the last one he wanted just for him.

Naruto walked out of his room with the scroll and knocked on Sasuke's door.

"Come in." was said from the other side of the door.

The blonde opened the door and walked in, "Sasuke look what the Hokage gave me. He said it was saved from the fire."

Sasuke looked over at the scroll, "Give it here." He took it when it was handed to him and opened it looking it over. "Four techniques, why is it ripped?"

"It must have been like that from before the fire."

"Hn." He evaluated the skill available, "We will start practicing the first, third and fourth tomorrow. I'll hold onto this for now."

"Okay, goodnight Sasuke."

"Night."

* * *

Naruto sat in his bed looking at the photo again before putting it away. He pulled up his sleeve to look at where the burn had been. It was gone now. He poked where it had been and noticed it felt fine. He sighed falling back against his pillow.

He smiled closing his eyes, "If I could I would give you wings…"

**Flashback **

"To lift you way up in the air. And you could find the rainbow then, cause wings would get you there." The woman smiled, "If I could I would give you wings to carry you out of the storm they take you higher then the wind and you'd be safe and warm."

Naruto smiled and waved his arms around, "Wings!" The two year old said excitedly, "Wings mommy."

"Wings little wings, wings in the wink of an eye, soon your little wings will be big enough to fly."

"I can fly mommy" The blonde said excitedly running around then grabbing the woman's legs.

She smiled and continued singing, "If I could I would give you wings to lighten your heart through the years, they'd flutter soft around you then and dry up all your tears. Wings little wings, wings in the wink of an eye. Soon your little wings will be big enough to fly. Soon your little wings will be big enough to fly." She finished and picked up the giggling boy.

"I love you mommy."

"I love you too Naruto."

He smiled glad he stayed with his mom instead of going out with his brothers. "I wanna fly."

"Some day you will baby."

**End Flashback**

"I'll fly some day mom, are you watching me?" He asked looking out the window at the stars.

* * *

**A/N:** There you go, I know it's a quiet chapter, but hopefully you liked it.


	7. Chapter Six

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Six**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto took in a deep breath. They had met with Kakashi earlier and had to pull some weeds from a ladies yard. It wasn't hard at all, but was a needed stage in ninja development. When he and Sasuke had arrived home they went to the back to practice the Jutsus from the scroll.

Sasuke jumped into the air before performing the fire phoenix, which he had been practicing all afternoon.

"That looked good," The blonde commented.

"How's the fire flicker coming?" The older boy asked.

"Well…I have the first part down, but I keep singing myself."

"Alright, lets stop and do more tomorrow." Sasuke rubbed his forehead trying to make the headache he was getting go away.

"Alright, I'll make dinner." Naruto said following the dark haired boy into the house.

Sasuke nodded and went off to his room shutting the door with a slight thud. He turned and looked at the bed and then the far wall. His head was pounding and he could feel the sweat sliding down his brow. His heart was speeding for an unknown reason. He needed to lie down and rest. Yeah some sleep would do him good.

Naruto looked up at the ceiling when he heard a loud thud. He set the pan he had pulled out down on the counter and made his way upstairs.

"Aniki, you okay?" He furrowed his brow when there was no answer, "Sasuke?" still no answer. He knocked lightly on the door.

The door was yanked open in a quick motion followed by an angry, "What?" causing the blonde to jump backwards.

"I just heard a noise and wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"How sweet of you," was the sarcastic reply.

"I'm just gonna go an finish diner." Naruto said backing away from his older brother and heading back towards the stairs.

"Aww, and I was looking forward to playing a game. Don't you want to play a game with me?"

The blonde visibly stiffened; he couldn't say no, but he didn't want to say yes. "What kind of game?"

"Hide and seek." Sasuke responded with a smirk.

"I should really go finish diner."

"One…two…"

Naruto ran sliding when he reached the stairs and then bolted down the stairs. 'Hide hide hide!' his mind was yelling at him. He needed to find somewhere. He turned to go left and then stopped and ran right. Before turning and going into the bathroom; he made his way into the bathtub and pulled the shower curtain. Crouching down he pulled his knees to his chest, set his head on his knees, and listened.

"Ready or not here I come!" The blonde cringed slightly when he heard these words. He listened more carefully. The footsteps were above him and he didn't need to worry yet.

He could hear as the steps left his bedroom and stopped at the closet, then the upstairs bathroom, they were coming down the stairs, then the faded as they walked into the kitchen.

'Give up, give up.' Naruto chanted to himself. His ears picked up when the steps left the kitchen and went into the living room, and then they stopped completely. He listened closely; the footsteps were coming towards him. 'Shit'.

He closed his eyes as the bathroom door was opened. The footsteps slowly came closer.

"No, he couldn't be in here. I must be all wrong." Sasuke said almost playfully. "I wonder what would happen if I turned the water on."

Naruto was completely still, he didn't want to move or breath. Maybe Sasuke was testing him. He wasn't going to react, he was going to be still, be invisible. His plan however went out the window as a yelp left his lips from the sensation of the burning water leaving the showerhead.

Sasuke yanked the shower curtain back, "Boo!"

The blonde pushed back against the shower wall trying to ignore the hot water hitting him.

The dark haired boy got a smirk as his hand moved to the water control and shifted it to the far right.

Naruto shivered slightly as the water got icy. He stay pushed against the wall and wondered why he wasn't getting hit. He watched as Sasuke flipped the switch so that all the water stayed in the tub and didn't drain. It was just some cold water, better then getting beat.

Sasuke laughed as the blonde shivered and the water got higher. "Thought you were really smart didn't you? Well you were wrong weren't you?"

"I'm sorry." Naruto mumbled through chattering teeth. He didn't know exactly what he had done, but better just say sorry anyways.

"That wont work this time." The older one said reaching and grabbing the blonde's shoulders that struggled. He yanked the smaller boy forward and then pushed to the side downward.

Naruto pushed his arms forward hitting the bottom of the tub. He fought against Sasuke pushing him down, but his right arm gave out. The dark haired boy pushed down hard causing the younger one to be submerged in water.

Bubbles came up as Naruto kicked his legs wildly and reached his arm around to hit at the older boys.

Sasuke yanked him out of the water and turned him deciding he would prefer to see his brothers face as he struggled and in a quick motion he pushed the blonde back into the water.

Naruto scratched at Sasuke's arms trying to get him to let go before grabbing the side's of the tub and trying to pull himself up. His feet were kicking like crazy. One kick managed to turn the water off. He could her as the water stopped and that gave him and idea so he tried to kick the lever to drain the water.

Sasuke pulled him back up and watched him gasp for air.

"Stop please." The younger boy managed to beg before being pushed back under water. His hands went to the older ones wrists and he tried to dig his nails into them so that he would be let up.

Sasuke just growled and made a jerking motion that caused Naruto to hit his head on the bottom of the tub. He then jerked the blonde back up.

"Cold, so cold. P…please, stop." If he was going to say anything else being pushed into the water cut him off.

Naruto stopped struggling as the water became warm to him and he was content not to move. He pushed his foot out and heard a small thunk noise as the drain was turned on.

Sasuke started shaking the younger boy, pulling him out and then pushing him back in the water rapidly. Naruto just went limp in his hands as everything became blurry to him. The dark haired boy pushed the boy back down and then let go leaving the bathroom.

Naruto coughed up some water and took in a breath before everything went black.

* * *

His eyes opened slowly as he looked around. How did he get wet? He was covered in water but it seemed to be almost dried. His head wasn't hurting anymore. He walked out of the room and made his way down stairs and coughed slightly.

There was smoke, it was coming from the kitchen. Something in the oven was on fire. He turned off the oven quickly and pulled it open trying to get it out. The smoke caused him to cough again.

"Naruto. Naruto!" Sasuke called out knowing his little brother wouldn't just leave something in the kitchen unattended. "Naruto!" He started searching the house frantically after the fire was out.

He yanked open the cracked bathroom door and saw Naruto in the bathtub. His head was leaning against the side of the tub and his hair was wet and stuck to the top of his head. Sasuke ran in and shook him slightly.

"Naruto, Naruto answer me." There was no response, just silence. Sasuke realized that his little brothers lips were pale and he was drenched, his skin looked pale. He pulled the smaller boy out of the tub and onto the floor. He leaned down and listened for a heart beat. There was a steady beat. He then listened for breathing it was there but faint, to faint almost like it was barely holding on.

Sasuke cupped his hand onto Naruto's chest and put the other one on top of it and pushed down. "One, two, three." He counted the compressions and then opened the blonde's mouth and breathed into it. He moved back and started compressions again, "One, two, three. Come on, you cant leave me too, come on." He screamed before breathing into his mouth again.

He paused and checked for air before doing another set of compressions before breathing more air into the blonde. "COME ON!" He screamed pushing down on the smaller boy's chest three times.

Naruto's head moved to the side and he coughed up more water. He was cold and his body started to shiver to get him warm.

Sasuke had a wave of relief wash over him as he saw his younger brother breathing normally. He grabbed a towel and wrapped him in it. "You scared me what happened?"

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I'm sorry," Naruto mumbled still slightly out of it.

Sasuke shook his head, "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Cold, so cold."

Sasuke picked Naruto up and carried him up the stairs deciding to get him out of the wet clothes and try and get him warm.

'I'm sorry Sasuke, I'm sorry.' Naruto's words replayed in his head and he wondered what exactly he had missed.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Seven**

By Boejangles

* * *

It had been three days since Naruto had almost drowned. Sasuke had kept his distance since then, only coming around for training and missions with Kakashi. His eyes held a distance and Naruto didn't want to chance what would happen if he snapped him out of it.

Naruto had worked in private on the fire clone. He quickly caught onto the basics and was close to perfecting it.

Missions were mundane and nothing hard; walking dogs, catching cats, cleaning windows, painting fences, nothing special.

The blonde was currently in the backyard working on the fire jutsu from the scroll. He had thought about talking to Kakashi about what was happening, but old memories always stopped him.

**Flashback **

A woman with long dark hair stood at the counter fixing a sandwich. She was swaying slightly and humming.

_A small blonde boy was grinning above his sandwich and dancing back and fourth. "Yummy!" He called licking peanut butter off his lips. He looked over at his older brother who was waiting for his own sandwich. He ran over and offered his sandwich, "Here Sasuke!" _

_Sasuke looked at the sandwich and smiled taking a bite, "Thanks!" _

_The blonde ran over and grabbed onto his mothers legs dancing with her and smiling. _

"_That was a good thing you did," She said looking down at him, "You guys need to take care of each other and look out for one another." _

"_Always!" Naruto cheered looking over at his brother. _

"_Always." Sasuke answered with a smiled before the blonde pulled him wanting to dance, to which he gave in. _

**End Flashback**

"Always." Naruto repeated to himself.

"Otouto, come in and get dinner started."

"Yes Aniki." He responded making his way inside and to the kitchen, "I thought you were making diner."

"I was having trouble getting it ready, you're a better cook anyway."

"Oh, well wanna help?" Naruto asked cleaning some carrots.

Sasuke looked around the kitchen and then nodded, "What can I do?"

"Well, here." He said handing him the carrots, "You can cut these up."

"Alright." The dark haired boy said taking the carrots and grabbing a cutting knife.

Naruto felt oddly good and smiled to himself about his brother helping. "If only big brother were back." He commented to himself.

Sasuke's grip tightened on the knife, "What?" He asked turning around.

"No…nothing Sasuke," Naruto said turning to face the older boy.

"You just said something, what did you say?" Rage was flashing in his eyes.

"Nothing, I said nothing."

"Liar!" He shouted lunging his arm forward.

A small sound made its way out of Naruto's mouth as he looked down. He could see the handle of the knife. 'That's odd.' He thought before realizing the knife's blade was inside him. He couldn't move, but felt his knees buckle and give way as he fell over.

Sasuke took a step back snapping back to reality. His eyes went wide seeing the blonde on the ground. He crouched down and pulled out the knife and looked away slightly when blood began to come out. 'Why did he run into the knife?' His mind was trying to figure out what happened and what to do at the same time. 'Hospital, I need a hospital!'

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes slowly to semi darkness. He didn't know where he was it was dark and wet.

"Stand up." A voice soft yet commanding called out.

The blonde looked around trying to find the voice, but did what he was told. He looked down, but saw no whole in his stomach. "Who's there?"

"Come to me child."

He followed the voice and came upon large bars. He saw behind the bars a mystical and beautiful yet dangerous creature; a giant red fox with many swishing tails. "What are you?"

"I am the Kyuubi no Kistune, ruler of the nine tailed demons."

"Demons?"

"Yes, however that is not important right now."

Naruto looked at the creature questioningly, "Why?"

"You are dieing." Kyuubi said softly, "but I can help. All you need to do is reach out and grab my paw."

"D…dieing? Does that mean you're my guardian angel?"

"Not exactly, but you must hurry and let me help you."

He nodded and reached out grabbing a hold of the red paw. Energy went through his body and entered his veins. He felt strong, stronger then he had ever felt. Then it was too much for his body to handle and he fell into a sleep.

Kyuubi sighed looking at the small boy. She had been angered at being trapped inside the boy, but after watching how much the boy struggled just to live she held a respect for him. What humans could do to one another disgusted her. She had opened the connection between them. Now she would be able to heal him without him coming here and even without him knowing. She would look after the child from now on.

* * *

Sasuke sat holding his brother hand and crying slightly. He had lost everyone and now he was going to lose his little brother too. He couldn't be alone he wouldn't survive.

He had run as fast as he could to the hospital clutching onto the blonde for dear life. The doctors were shocked and had asked what happened. He had told them that he turned around and his brother was running and it was just a big accident. They took him away to fix him up and then put him in a hospital bed to recover. That's where Sasuke was now sitting next to the bed in the overly white room.

Naruto groaned and opened his eyes slowly.

"You're awake, thank god. I was so scared that I was going to lose you." Sasuke said jumping up and hugging the smaller boy. "I don't want to be alone, don't leave me alone."

The blonde coughed slightly, "I'm not leaving." He said quietly after realizing what had happened and where he was.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you and then the knife and you were on the floor, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry." Sasuke said quickly trying to keep from crying.

'So that's how he remembers it.' Naruto gave a sad smile, "It's okay, and I'm still here."

* * *

The Hokage frowned slightly after peeking his head inside the room. He looked back at the doctor, "So explain it to me again."

"Well, Hokage sir, if the injury were to happen as Sasuke says then the opening would be different. You see if you run into a knife you are going to pull back as soon as you feel it. That would cause more of carved injury with more height. However his wound was a single cut and only the height of the knife, which would indicate a fast entry rate with a forward jab. More liked a stab wound then fall."

"I see. Send someone to get Kakashi."

"Hai." The doctor gave a small bow and ran off.

The Hokage began to pace the hall thinking things over.

"Hokage-sama, you requested for me?" Kakashi said bowing his head.

"Yes Kakashi, I want you to keep your eye on Naruto and Sasuke and how they act around each other. Anything out of the ordinary I want you to report to me."

"Yes sir, may I ask as to why?" He said wondering what was going on.

"Well Naruto is in that room right there, the doctors say he was stabbed. The only one around was Sasuke, who says Naruto ran into the knife."

"Ah I see, and you think that there was fowl play?"

"I'm not sure what to think yet. But keep an eye on them. In a few days when Naruto recovers I have a mission for you and your team, until then let the other two have a break. I will have the doctor keep and eye on them while Naruto stay here." Sarutobi spoke frustrated that he didn't know what was going on, and if what was going on what he thought was why he hadn't caught it earlier.

"Yes sir." Kakashi said with a bow as he left thinking things over. 'That fire jutsu when Naruto almost got hurt, had he seen him?'

* * *

A/N: It's not BPD; it's a Split Personality Disorder from Schizophrenia. You can look it up. I think I am doing the symptoms well, but if you catch me messing anything up then call me on it. Leave a review and tell me what you think.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Eight**

By Boejangles

* * *

Team seven was gathered in front of the Hokage. It had been four days since Naruto had been entered the hospital. He had been released on the second day when the wound was gone, but Kakashi told him to rest at home for a couple of days.

Sarutobi eyed the genin squad in front of him. Part of him didn't want to give him the mission the other part felt it was necessary. "Kakashi, do you feel your team is ready for a C-Rank mission?"

The gray haired ninja rubbed his chin as if in thought, but inside he knew he already had to say yes, this was the mission the Hokage was talking about in the hospital. "Hai, Hokage-sama I believe they are."

Naruto looked up at the man surprised. _'A C-Rank this soon? Have we improved that much?'_

Sasuke smirked,_ 'Finally a real mission, now I can see just how far I've come.'_ He glanced at his brother, _'and how much he's learned.'_

Sakura was playing with her fingers looking at the ground then up at her team mates and then the ground again, _'are we really ready for this?'_

Sarutobi nodded, "Alright, then you will be taking an escort mission to the land of waves." He looked to the ANBU guard, "Bring him in."

An elder man walked in and it looked as if this man had decided that noon was a decent enough time to get wasted. "These are the brats that are going to be protecting me?" He raised an eyebrow and pointed at the blonde, "That one there looks like he cant be older then nine, scrawny little thing too."

"What did you say?" Sasuke growled taking a step forward.

Naruto grabbed his arm to hold him back, "No, don't, it's fine."

The Hokage watched the scene and got slightly confused. _'Maybe I was wrong, why would he hurt him yet be so protective over him.'_ "Tazuna, please don't underestimate Konoha's ninja. They may be young, but they are genin and fully capable of protecting you from any bandits and thugs that might attack."

Kakashi smiled at the old man, "Indeed and if anything comes that they cant handle, as a Jounin, I will take care of it."

Tazuna grunted and gave a nodded eyeing the dark haired boy that had just a moment ago looked ready to attack him.

"Alright squad go gather your things for a week long trip and meet at the north gate in one hour." The gray haired Nin said before poofing into smoke.

Naruto waved bye to Sakura before leaving with Sasuke.

* * *

Naruto had his bag ready even packing a first aid kit just incase. He closed his eyes, a week away from the village, could Sasuke stay under control for that long.

"Hey, Aniki." The blonde started walking into the kitchen where Sasuke was packing some food for the two of them.

"Hn?"

"You're not feeling angry or anything right? Not feeling weird?"

"No," The dark haired boy answered turning around slightly confused, "Why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure. So you're feeling perfectly fine?"

"Yes." He raised an eyebrow looking at his brother, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said grabbing an apple and taking a bite, "I feel just fine."

Sasuke gave a nod wondering why the younger boy was acting so weird. "Lets go."

* * *

Kakashi watched as the two Uchihas walked up. "Ah, there you are." He said before evaluating Naruto closer.

The blonde was grinning and snacking on an apple. "I am really excited."

The Jounin gave a nod happy with the youngest boy's appearance. "Alright lets go."

They started on their journey to the wave, the three genin in front, Tazuna in the middle, and Kakashi taking up the back.

Sakura turned and looked at Naruto, "So how are you feeling, Kakashi-sensei said that you were in the hospital."

The blonde turned to look at his pink haired teammate with a grin, "I'm feeling better then ever!" he a thumbs up to prove his point.

Sakura nodded happy with the answer. "Hey Sasuke!"

"Hn?" He looked over at the girl standing on the other side of his brother.

"Well I was just wondering if it was true that you are learning a bunch of cool fire techniques? I over heard Naruto talking about an old scroll."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto wondering whom the blonde could have been talking to. "Yeah, they're Uchiha techniques."

"That's really cool." Sakura said with a grin.

"I'm learning them too!" Naruto added with a proud grin.

"That's nice too." She added ruffling the younger boy's blonde hair.

Kakashi noticed a puddle from the corner of his eye and then looked at his squad, they were chatting away they must not have noticed. He stiffened when two enemy ninja jumped out of the puddle, and let himself be cut into pieces.

Sakura whirled around and let out a scream seeing her sensei being torn to shreds.

Naruto's eyes widened before he ran to get in front of Tazuna.

"One down." The pair said with a laugh looking at the genin. "Now for two!" They screamed in unison heading for Naruto.

The blonde took in a deep breath before breathing out fire causing the two to jump from their original path.

Sasuke jumping into the air throwing a shuriken and a kunai to cause the two's chain to stick to a tree.

The two ex mist Nin pulled on the chain, but it wouldn't budge. At this point Sakura joined Naruto in guarding Tazuna. The two stuck to the tree released their chained and barred there metal claws.

"We'll cut you to ribbons!" They threatened before charging. Sasuke looked over at Naruto and their eyes met before they each nodded.

The blonde burst into flames and then was gone. Sasuke had jumped in the air again. Naruto appeared behind the two mist Nins as he and his brother both went through the proper hand seals for the fire shuriken.

The enemy ninja were barraged from both sides by flaming shuriken. However they were able to deflect the projectiles with their massive claws. The both ran separate ways each heading for a different Uchiha.

Naruto, who was just landing on the ground, threw up his arms to defend himself from the on coming blow. He grabbed onto the bulky metal and was pushed back but kept himself from being hit.

Sasuke was prepared to block the attack and attack back when the person who was running towards him cut to the side and passed him heading towards Sakura and Tazuna. It was then that he noticed Naruto being forced back by a blow.

Sakura brought up a kunai ready to block the attack. She silently hopped that Sasuke would catch the guy before he reached her. Her green eyes went wide when she saw him running away from the man coming towards her. _'What!'_

Naruto had an iron grip on the claw; he knew that was the dangerous thing he could see the poison dripping off of it. The mist nin jerked his arm back tugging the blonde forward before connecting his fist to the boy's face causing his head to be pushed back. He however would not let go of the bulky metal. He could take a beating; he had gone through much worse. The older man continued to punch the kid shaking his claw trying to get the kid off.

Sasuke was running towards his brother ready to take the man out but paused and looked back when Sakura screamed out his name. It was in the next minute that Naruto was thrown in the air when the mist Nin jerked his arm real quick and landed a mean kick to his stomach.

Kakashi caught the ninja racing towards Sakura in a headlock before grabbing the other in the same fashion choking each of them until they passed out.

Sasuke only took a moment to register what happened before running off to where Naruto had landed. The blonde was getting up onto his feet again, but accepted Sasuke's offered hand.

"You alright?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm sorry I let you get hurt Naruto, I should have stepped in sooner." Kakashi spoke looking over at the two.

"Why didn't you!" Sasuke growled.

"I said I am sorry, but I had to see who their target was, us, or Tazuna." He said looking over at the man whose eyes went slightly wide.

"It's alright, I'm fine." Naruto said to both his brother and sensei.

Sasuke looked at him before wiping the blood off his cheek. "Why didn't you let go?"

"I think I would have gotten more hurt if I did, but I told you already I'm fine."

"Tazuna, I think you have some explaining to do. We were hired for a C-Rank mission, we were not informed that there were enemy ninja after you." Kakashi spoke looking at the man before tying up the two mentioned ninja.

The bridge builder looked down at the ground.

"I am sure you have your reasons, but one of my students has already been injured, this is at least a B-Rank mission, and I will not put my team in danger."

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said coming over, "I'm not hurt, barely at all. Let's stay on the mission, I don't want to quit now."

The gray haired Nin looked at the blonde seeing that the bruises already seemed to be fading and the cuts were closing, _'that's impossible, it must be the nine tailed fox.'_ "Naruto, you understand that this mission has just become very dangerous? There are probably more enemy ninja and its possible that someone might get hurt."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at his older brother, "I understand, and I want to finish my first real mission."

Kakashi looked at him and his mask hid a small proud smile before he looked at his other two students, "How about you two?"

Sasuke smirked walking up to his brother, "Of course it might even be fun."

Sakura bit her lip nervously, "I want to stay too."

"Alright." The gray haired Nin said before turning to Tazuna, "However if we keep this mission I expect a full explanation."

Tazuna bowed his head, "I suppose I owe you that, I will explain as we move."

* * *

Tazuna had explained all about the Wave being a poor nation and not having enough for a higher-level mission. He went on to explain how Gato had taken over and was trying to kill him to stop the bridge from being built that would ensure his nation's freedom.

Kakashi sighed, "This is a B, possible A-rank mission and I expect that to be paid once you have the money."

"Yes," the old man said with a nod, "Thank you."

They were currently in a boat crossing the water through a thick fog.

Naruto dipped a cloth in the water before wiping off his face that was now completely healed.

"Here we are," The person rowing the boat, said when they reached the pier, "This is where I leave you."

"Thank you for taking us this far." Tazuna said tipping his hat before leading the group to where they were supposed to go.

As they continued walking Naruto made his way into the front if only by the slightest while Sakura tried to make conversation with Sasuke. Kakashi was in the back directly behind Tazuna.

The blonde stopped looking to his left, _'huh?'_ He took a step towards the bushes before noticing it was just a white rabbit. He had an urge to pick it up and he did. His mind went to his rabbit freckles and then he froze stuck in a trance remembering what happened.

Kakashi looked over at the blonde when he stopped moving, "What is it?" He then noticed the rabbit in the boy's arms. _'A rabbit? Wait a minute a white snow rabbit in summer time.'_ He looked around searching for someone. "Everyone duck!"

Sasuke went to the ground and Sakura pushed Tazuna to the ground. Naruto however, was still inside his own head his body trembling, but his eye's clouded over.

A large blade was flying through the air spinning at a fast rate. The edge of the handle caught the blonde's shoulder and caused him to fall before clutching his arm.

Sasuke looked over scared when he heard the blade made contact, but glared after noticing the blonde wasn't seriously hurt.

A man appeared on top of the blade's handle after it embedded itself into a tree. The man was wearing no shirt and had camo arm warmers and dark pants. Bandages covered the lower half of his face. "My, my, if it isn't Kakashi or the Sharingan."

Naruto looked over at his now standing sensei, _'Sharingan?'_

_'How can he have Sharingan!'_ Sasuke's mind raced a slight anger building inside of him.

"Zabuza Momochi, demon of the hidden mist." Kakashi responded in the same cold voice the now named Zabuza had used.

"Didn't think I'd get to fight the copy cat ninja." Zabuza said with a smirk, "Or you can always step aside and let me kill the old man."

"Not going to happen. Squad surround the bridge builder, protect him and stay out of this fight."

* * *

A/N: There You go, hope you liked. Leave a review and tell me what you think.

If you are also reading 'Crimson Tears' I am sorry for the long wait. I am having a writters block and cant get it to where its good enough to post. Maybe my standars are to high, but I just cant get the next chapter right. Sorry but I am trying.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Insanity's Slip **

**Chapter Nine**

By Boejangles

* * *

"_Zabuza Momochi, demon of the hidden mist." Kakashi responded in the same cold voice the now named Zabuza had used._

"_Didn't think I'd get to fight the copy cat ninja." Zabuza said with a smirk, "Or you can always step aside and let me kill the old man."_

"_Not going to happen. Squad surround the bridge builder, protect him and stay out of this fight."_

* * *

Sasuke clenched both of his fists, but decided to ask questions later and do as he was told. Naruto also took up a defensive stand around the bridge builder holding a kunai. Sakura was shaking at how much killer intent was in the air, but stood her ground.

Kakashi waited and watched for Zabuza's move as a thick fog gathered. He deflected the giant sword with his kunai standing his ground. The fight went on each blocking the other's attack until Zabuza got the upper hand with a well-placed kick to Kakashi's stomach, sending the gray haired nin to fall into the water. Which led to him being trapped in a water prison.

Kakashi cursed as he watched the ex mist Nin create a water clone that handed for the others still on shore. "Run! You can out run him since the clone has to stay close to the maker. Just run!"

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek in anger before looking over at Sasuke. He knew that look; his brother wasn't going to back down. The blonde was about to say that they should make a plan but was too late when the dark haired boy started running. "Wait!"

Sasuke ignored his younger brother and continued running throwing two kunai at the clone while he ran.

The water clone deflected the kunai and smirked as he blocked the attack and kicked the boy away. "Kid, you are going to get hurt trying to play ninja." He stomped on the boy's stomach causing Sasuke to cough and a droplet of blood fell onto his chin.

Naruto growled seeing his older brother being hurt. "Asshole! Leave him alone!" The blonde charged the man but right before he reached him he caught fire and disappeared. He reappeared in front of the real Zabuza before bursting into flames causes in small explosion.

Zabuza was forced to let go of the water prison and jump back not to be scorched. As he did this he lost his focus and the water clone became nothing more then a puddle.

Sasuke was looking over at where the explosion had just gone off. _'How…how did he…when…did he learn that?'_

The real Naruto appeared again next to Sasuke helping him up "Are you okay?"

"How did you do that?" The raven asked confused but a slight accusation laced his voice.

"You little brat! I'll teach you to mess with me!" Zabuza hollered racing towards Naruto.

Kakashi jumped in front of him, "Your opponent is me!" He said before slashing down his kunai.

Naruto scratched the back of his head more focused on finding a way to appease his brother then the fight going on in front of him. "W…well, you see. I, um, well."

"Well?" Sasuke asked fixing him with a stare.

"That was amazing!" Sakura said running over to where the two boys were.

Naruto smiled, both at the compliment and being saved, "Thank Sakura."

Sasuke gave him a look that said he would have to explain later. And Naruto nodded before looking over to watch Kakashi and Zabuza fight.

Kakashi had pinned Zabuza to a tree and was about to lash the killing blow when a hunter Nin showed up and took the body after a quick thanks.

Naruto blinked in surprise at how the fight had ended.

Kakashi turned and looked at his team with proud eyes, "Very good job, I go, sleep." He muttered before falling forward onto his stomach.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura hollered as Naruto ran over to where his teacher had fallen.

"Aniki, help me." The blonde said lifting up one of Kakashi's arms and throwing it over his neck. Sasuke came over and did the same on the other side and together they carried the gray haired ninja to Tazuna's house.

* * *

Kakashi was on a mat that was laid on the floor. When he had finally woken up he had told them that he had used too much Chakra from the Sharingan. The next thing he said was that Zabuza was still alive.

Sasuke however was more concerned with something else. "Kakashi, why do you have the Sharingan of the Uchiha?" Naruto perked up to listen interested in hearing the story if there was one.

The gray haired Nin looked at his hands pondering whether or not to tell the two boys. "If you are concerned that I am related that I am an Uchiha, I am sorry to tell you that I am not. It does not concern you how I received this eye, all that matters is I have it."

Sasuke was not at all happy with this answer, "I think I deserve to know."

"I will tell you when and if I feel like you should know." Kakashi responded looking the dark haired teen directly in the eyes.

Sasuke grunted and turned leaving the room. He headed to the kitchen where diner was getting ready to be served.

Naruto bowed his head slightly, "I am sorry Kakashi-Sensei; he is a little touchy on such topics. I think diner is ready." He said offering a hand to help his teacher up.

Kakashi gave a nod, "I can understand." He took his students offered hand and stood up grabbing the crutches resting against the table.

* * *

The dinner was fairly quiet with chitchat every now and then. Naruto was focused on a little boy who was sitting across from him and heatedly glaring at his food. For some reason the boy interested the blonde, maybe it was because of the boy's eyes.

Naruto looked to his side when an elbow met his arm, it was Sasuke, "Yes?"

"What was that thing you did when there was that big explosion?" He asked the look in his eyes showed that he had been thinking about it for a while.

The blonde began thinking and he was thinking fast he needed a good reason he couldn't just come out and say that he lied and hid things from his older brother that would make him angry. "Well, I call it the fire clone."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked at his student. The fire clone after all was a very complicated technique. He had no idea how the boy had learned it and where he learned it.

"How did you learn it?" The dark haired boy asked.

Naruto licked his lips, "Well I got the idea when I was working with the fire flicker and I kept scorching myself. So I worked on it until I was able to combine the fire flicker with a clone, thus causing the clone to explode." He hoped that his answer was bought.

Sasuke evaluated the blonde's face, "You are lying."

"No I am not."

"I can tell it in your face."

"I swear I'm not." _'I don't want a fight.'_

Sasuke frowned, "Fine, but why didn't you show me before?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You didn't think I would like to now how to do it?"

"Boys, boys calm down and enjoy dinner." Kakashi said trying to calm both them down.

Naruto looked down at his food and kept eating. Sasuke grumbled under his breath but then too began to eat.

* * *

"Alright, since you all know that Zabuza will be coming back, I am going to train you in the time it will take for him to recover."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "But Kakashi-sensei you are in crutches."

The gray haired Nin looked down at the wooden crutches supporting his body, "So I am. However I can show you how you will be training and then you can continue on your own." His right eye upturned signifying that he was smiling. "Now, you will be tree climbing."

"Tree climbing?" Sasuke asked as if it was the most non-sense thing in the world.

"Yes, of course you are not allowed to use your hands. It will teach you to control your Chakra. Here I will show you." With that he began climbing the tree using only his feet crutches and all. "See, now it's your turn." He said once he was back on the ground. He threw a kunai at each of their feet. "Mark how high you can go and then try and go above that line until you can go all the way up the tree."

Naruto picked up the kunai and looked at it before looking at the tree. He took in a breath and ran at the tree. He made it up three steps before falling back to the ground. Grunting slightly on impact he got back up.

Sasuke watched as his brother fell to the ground. He looked at the tree in front of him and began running making it up four steps before the wood cracked under his foot and he had to jump back to the ground.

"Ah well one of you seems to have gotten it." Kakashi spoke in an almost teasing manner.

Both boys looked and saw their pink haired teammate sitting on a higher branch of the tree. Naruto was shocked at first but then grinned giving her thumbs up. Sasuke on the other hand frowned before running back at the tree he was at. Sakura smiled back at Naruto, but then felt kind of bad with how Sasuke reacted.

"Well keep working on it. Sakura I want you to run up and down until you cant anymore." The gray haired man said before turning and leaving for the bridge.

* * *

Naruto was tired; he had been working all day and still couldn't make it half way up the tree. It was just so hard for him. Sasuke could make it to the halfway point but not much further.

"What's the point of even training, you are all going to die anyways!" The boy that had intrigued Naruto the other night had yelled.

"Inari!" Tsunami reprimanded. The lovely lady had been finishing the set up of dinner.

"What! It's true! You are all going to die, Gato will kill you!" The now identified Inari shouted.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because it doesn't matter how strong you are or how hard you try, Gato will just kill you. There's no point in even trying. The weak always lose!"

"Well at least when you are trying there is a chance of you succeeding, but when you give up there is none." Naruto spoke, in his mind talking about two things.

"What do you know! You are just some kid that's had everything go your way! You know nothing of this place! You don't know what it's like to suffer! You know nothing of pain and loss!" Inari snapped tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Sasuke almost growled but just gripped the end of the table. Who the hell did this kid think he was?

Naruto stood up slamming his hands on the table, "You have no idea what you are talking about. I've had to deal with pain you probably couldn't even imagine. Next time think before you talk." With that he turned and walked out of the house.

Sasuke glared at Inari from where he was sitting, "Not everyone is like you. Not everyone gives up when things get hard. Not everyone's a baby!" The raven stood and walked up the stairs of the house.

Sakura looked from where Naruto walked off to where Sasuke walked off. "Sensei, I am going after him." She said before heading towards the door to look for her blonde haired teammate.

Kakashi sighed and looked at Inari, "I am sorry for that, they didn't mean to be harsh. It's just that those two have gone through a lot. They lost their entire family when they were younger. They have lived just the two of them since then. They shouldn't have yelled, but they did have a point." With that Kakashi left to go talk to Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura found Naruto sitting with his legs hanging off the dock just looking out at the water. "Hey, are you okay?"

The blonde looked up as if he hadn't noticed her coming, "I'm sorry about that, I just got upset."

The pink haired girl took a seat next to the younger boy. "Want to talk about it?"

Naruto looked back at the water as if pondering if he should say anything. "I don't know it's just that I miss them."

"Your parents?"

"Yeah, and my brother."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused. Sasuke was right inside the house why would the blonde miss him.

Blue eyes widened catching his mistake, "It's just that he hasn't been the same since the incident. Sometimes it's like it isn't even him."

Sakura set her hand on the younger boy's shoulder, "Sometimes pain can do that. When you lose something it is hard to deal with. I'm sure he is just really hurting inside. But do you know what heals that pain inside."

Naruto looked up wiping a tear away from his eye that he had failed to hold back. He hadn't talked to anyone like this in so long; he hadn't talked to anyone about this at all. "What?"

She gave him a bright smile, "Love."

"Love?"

"Yes, when someone is hurting deep down inside the only thing that can heal them is love." She gave his shoulder a squeeze.

Naruto looked down at his hands in his lap. He always loved his brother, maybe he wasn't doing it right, or maybe it wasn't good enough. He looked back up at Sakura his eyes holding almost a pleading, "Can you love him too? I love him with all my heart, but maybe he needs more. Will you do it?" He looked hopeful.

Sakura blushed a bright red knowing he wasn't talking about that. "Yes, I will." She answered but the voice in the back of her head reminded her that he would have to let her love him first.

The first time since they started talking a smile graced the younger boy's face. "Thank you!" He said pulling his teammate into a hug.

"What are big sisters for?" She asked hugging him back.

Naruto froze at the comment, "Big sister?"

"Well if you want me to be." She said hoping she didn't say something wrong.

The blonde just smiled again before squeezing her tighter, "Of course neesan!" Naruto felt better now that she had come out and talked to him, he didn't feel alone. He almost felt like telling her the truth, about well everything. "Neesan?"

"Hmm?" Sakura looked down at the boy still in her arms.

"About helping Sasuke." He started.

"I'm perfectly fine." Sasuke spoke from where he was leaning against the building startling the both. "I don't need any help."

"I'm sorry, I was just worried. After everything that was said an all." Naruto said talking about what happened at dinner. He stood up and walked towards the dark haired boy.

Sakura watched from where she was sitting, "Sasuke, I don't think he meant any harm."

Sasuke ignored the girl, "Well you don't need to worry about me, and I'm fine. Let's just head to bed."

"Yes Aniki." The blonde responded hurrying to his brother's side to walk into the house. He turned and looked over his shoulder and Sakura, "Thanks, for the talk and all."

"No problem." The pink haired girl said back as she started walking in with the two boys.

* * *

Sakura was laying on the ground her head against the tree she had just been running up and down. Her chest was pounding and her heart was beating rapidly. To put it simply she was very exhausted.

"Very good Sakura. I think that is enough for today, why don't you go guard Tazuna. I'll meet you at the bridge shortly." Kakashi said from over his book.

"Yes Sensei." The pink haired girl responded before getting up and making her way to the bridge.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you have both improved a lot over the past two days. Just keep working on it. I am going to the bridge. Go back to the house when you are done." The gray haired Nin gave a nod before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Bye Sensei." The blonde called after his teacher disappeared. He turned his attention back to the tree. He was proud of his progress but it still wasn't good enough, he wanted to reach the top.

Sasuke ran at his tree again barely acknowledging that almost everyone was gone. He made it four-fifths up the tree before flipping off of it and landing back on the ground.

Naruto was close to getting where his older brother was on the tree. He took in a breath before running at the tree again.

They went at it for hours; the sun was now lower in the sky. The blonde had a huge grin on his face as he looked over at his brother.

"We did it!" Naruto proclaimed still clutching to the top of the tree.

Sasuke had a smirk on his face, but that quickly vanished as both of his hands went to his head holding onto it tightly; however when he did this not only did he let go but he also lost his concentration which caused him to fall backwards.

"Aniki!" The blonde screamed jumping down from branch to branch as fast as he could. He crouched on the ground and grabbed a hold of his brother before he made impact with the ground. He gave a slight grunt as he slid with the dark haired boy's added weight.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke still had booth hands on his head and his eyes closed tight in pain. Then his hands fell limb to his side and his eyes relaxed.

"Hey?" The blonde gave the boy in his arms a shake, "Hey, wake up." Panic slowly started to build in his chest, as his brother wasn't moving.

Suddenly black eyes snapped open.

Naruto gave a slight jump, "Geez you scared me."

Sasuke scowled looking around, "Let. Me. Go."

The blonde scrunched up his eyebrows, but let go of his brother. The older boy stood up and looked down at the smaller boy.

"What the hell are you doing just sitting there?"

"Umm, nothing." Naruto answered slightly confused, "Am I supposed to be doing something else?"

"Watch how the fuck you talk to me!" Sasuke snapped before slapping the younger boy across the face.

The blonde pulled his hand to his cheek and stared at the ground. 'Damn it! Not now.' "I…I'm sorry."

"Damn right you are sorry! Now get over here." The dark haired boy growled.

Naruto took in a breath to calm himself and slowly stood up facing his older brother.

Sasuke grabbed the front of the blonde's shirt before shoving him into the tree. "You are useless! I should have killed you when I killed the rest of them."

Blue eyes widened in surprise, "You remember…" He was silenced by a slap to his cheek.

"I didn't give you permission to talk!" He lifted the smaller boy off the tree and slammed him back against it. "Let's see if I was right in letting you live." He let go of the younger boy. "Run!"

Naruto looked at his brother with fear and shock still in his eyes. 'Run!' He turned and pumped his legs as fast as they would go twisting through the trees making a zigzagged path that would be harder to follow.

Sasuke stood in the same spot looking up and the sky before closing his eyes and popping his neck to the side. He opened his eyes and had a twisted smile on his lips. "Here I come." Were the only words that left his lips before he took chase.

The blonde was running as fast as he could. 'Please let me do this.' He prayed silently as he kept running the speed he was straight at a tree and then ran right up it. He stopped once he felt he was high enough up and sat on the branch leaning against the trunk of the tree. 'Be quiet, just stay quiet.'

The older boy was following the smaller ones trail and listening for noises. He stopped in a small clearing surrounded by trees. "I know you are here!" He called out, "Well Mr. Perfect, I thought you would be able to do better then this. Your pathetic I know you are there. So just come out already!"

Naruto clutched his knees to his chest. 'He is just trying to get me to come out; he doesn't know where I am. It's just a mind game.' He was shaking slightly in fear. He could feel the hate in his brother's eyes it was different then before. The only time he had ever seen his brother like this was the night his parents died. Part of him just knew his brother wouldn't hesitate in killing him.

"Ha!" Sasuke screamed right next to the blonde's head causing the smaller boy to jump before the dark haired boy pulled his arm back and punched the blonde out of the tree.

Naruto head was spinning from the hit and he barely had time to register he was falling. He twisted so that he landed on his feet. However the force at which he was falling caused a crack to be heard. The blonde cried out as pain surged up his left leg from where his anklebone had snapped.

Sasuke laughed as he watched the younger boy fall onto the ground clutching his left ankle. "Awww, did the little baby get hurt."

The blonde started scooting back away from his older brother. He went to get up and hollered in pain as he put pressure on his left leg. However his survival instinct over powered the pain and he started limping away using the nearby trees as support. "Help! Somebody help me!"

The dark haired boy gave another laugh as he walked slowly towards the limping boy. "No one can hear you. We are out in the middle of nowhere." He lifted his arms towards the trees to prove his point. He sped up slightly and grabbed onto the locks of blonde hair before jerking back.

"Ahh!" Naruto gave a scream as he was yanked back. He stumbled which made him put more weight then he intended on his left leg, which made him scream out again.

"You are useless. Completely utterly useless." Sasuke said before throwing the smaller boy to the ground. "I don't see why you are so special."

Naruto let the tears fall down his cheeks. If he was going to die here there was something he wanted to know, no, needed to know. "Why…why did you kill everyone? Why did you kill mom and dad!"

His question was answered with a swift kick to the stomach. "Shut up! You know nothing!" Sasuke pulled his foot back and kicked his younger brother again. "They deserved it!"

The blonde grunted in pain, "How can you say that? They never did anything wrong."

Sasuke kneeled down on the ground grabbing the smaller boy's collar, "Never did anything wrong! Are you kidding me? Of course you would say that, you were always so perfect. You disgust me!" He pulled his arm back before smashing his fist into the blonde's face.

Naruto struggled to hold onto consciousness. His vision was blurry and everything was spinning. "W…why do you hate me?" His voice was a little shaky.

The dark haired boy just growled before bringing his fist down again effectively knocking out the younger boy. "Never even fought back, useless." He stood up and started to walk away. "And to think mom loved you more, pathetic."

Sasuke made it halfway to Tazuna's house before he fell onto the ground clutching his head. Then his body went completely limp. It was five minutes before he groggily opened his eyes. 'What the hell?' He looked around confused as he stood up.

"Where'd otouto run off to?" He looked behind him towards where they were training, "Probably still going at it." He shook his head before continuing to the house.

* * *

"There you are I was worried!" Sakura reprimanded as soon as Sasuke made it through the door.

Kakashi looked up and raised an eyebrow as the dark haired boy closed the door and no one was behind him. "Sasuke, where is Naruto?"

"He is still training. He will be coming pretty soon."

"Alright. Well you two head on to bed after you get something to eat." The gray haired Nin said as he made his way to the living room.

* * *

Kakashi sat up with a start and looked around. He couldn't believe he fell asleep, he didn't even remember closing his eyes.

Getting up he made his way upstairs and opened the boy's door. He clenched his fist when he only saw Sasuke. He had already walked through the kitchen and knew the boy wasn't there.

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's sleeping form and lifted him up, "Where is Naruto?"

The dark haired boy opened his eyes looking towards where his brother should be sleeping. "You mean he didn't come back last night?"

"Don't play stupid with me!" Kakashi gave the boy a shake, "What did you do to Naruto?" He was angry with himself for not questioning the boy last night. Now something could have happened to his student and he had been out the entire night.

"I didn't do anything Kakashi. Put me down." Sasuke growled angry at being accused of something he didn't do. "Maybe he just fell asleep after training too hard. Why don't we just go look for him?"

The gray haired Nin lifted the younger boy up higher, "You better hope to God when we find him nothing has happened to him." He set the boy back on the ground.

"Is that a threat Kakashi?"

"No, it's just a little advice." He said before leaving the room. "Come on. I'll wake Sakura and then we are going to find Naruto."

* * *

A/N: Okay there you go. Hope you like. I couldnt figure out where to stop it, but decided to give you an update then making you wait for me to finish with Wave completely. So tell me what you think.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Ten**

By Boejangles

* * *

He could feel someone shaking his shoulder, which caused him to groan. Then as soon as it started the shaking was gone. Puzzled he opened his eyes to see who had moved him. Blue eyes opened to see long dark strands of hair moving away.

His eyes went wide as he rushed to his feet, somewhere in the back of his mind he registered that his ankle seemed to be fine now.

"W…wait, come back!" He called stretching his arm out trying to stop the moving figure. But the person just moved faster.

"Aniki! Don't leave me again!" He started running after the man, "Itachi stop!"

The man seemed to pause for a second before shaking his head and going faster.

"Wait! At least talk to me! Please!" Naruto was getting angry with his brother not stopping. With a burst of speed he caught the dark haired figures arm and yanked on it. This caused the man to turn to the side and fall slightly trying to catch his balance.

Blue eyes widened when he saw the man's face and realized he had made a mistake. He quickly helped the man balance. "I'm so sorry I thought you were someone else." He silently bereted himself, 'I'm so stupid, Aniki is taller then that. It's been so long…I must be forgetting him. No! Never, I'd never forget him!'

The other man's eyes softened and were a warm brown, "That's alright, and I probably shouldn't have run." In truth he had recognized the boy and while wanting to help didn't want to get close knowing they would most likely fight.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "Well my name's Uchiha Naruto, what's yours?"

He took a moment to think about it and decided he came this far and it wouldn't matter anyway, "Haku. It's nice to meet you Naruto."

"So Haku, what are you doing out here?" The blonde asked looking around.

"I was picking some herbs for medicine." He said with a warm smile, "Why were you sleeping in the woods?"

Naruto looked to the ground, "Well…um…I was…. and um…It was…a…um…"

Haku laughed slightly at the boy's speech. "Do you not have anywhere to go?"

"Oh no, its not that. It's just," He sighed before looking back to the ground, "Me and my brother got into a fight."

"And you decided to sleep in the woods?" Haku raised an eyebrow.

"Well…uh…um…" He started stumbling over his words again.

"Ah, I see." Haku had a gentle smile again. "It wasn't your choice?"

"Well not really," The blonde admitted.

The brunette gave a nod, "Is he precious to you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the question, "Yes, why?"

"Well that would be one of the reasons you would lie for him."

The blue eyes widened in what seemed to be fear, "What! What do you mean?"

"I mean when you were trying to find a different reason for you being out here then your brother." Haku noticed that the blonde almost immediately relaxed after he said that. He couldn't stop him self as he said what he was thinking, "What else are you hiding?"

Naruto look up at him with a mix of emotions on his face. He looked back at the ground with a frown on his face, "I'm not hiding anything."

Haku decided to drop it, "Well it's good to have a precious person; it gives you something to live for, to die for." He gave another soft smile as he stood up. "It was nice meeting you Uchiha Naruto, I will see you again sometime."

Naruto stood up, "Thanks for talking and all. It was nice to meet you too Haku. Goodbye." He gave a small wave. It wasn't until Haku was out of sight that he realized he had no idea where he was.

He had been running out of fear he didn't realize where he had gone or how to get back. Getting slightly scared he did the only thing he knew to do; he sat down and leaned against the tree pulling his knees to his chest.

That's how Kakashi found him; leaning against a tree with his head resting against his knees. "Naruto, are you okay?" He asked leaning down to the boy's level.

The blonde's head shot up at the familiar voice, "Kakashi-sensei!" He hugged the gray haired man as relief filled him.

He hugged his student back glad that he was okay, "Are you hurt or anything?"

"No, not at all." Naruto answered.

"What are you doing out here?" Kakashi asked half dreading the answer half hoping what he thought wasn't true.

"Well, I was training with the tree walking and I decided that I wanted to go on a walk to clear my head and then try some more before heading back, but then I didn't recognize anything anymore and when I tried to go back I just got more lost and I just sort of got stuck out here." The blonde had decided he better think something up after his encounter with Haku.

The gray haired nin sighed with relief, "Why didn't you just come back when Sasuke did?"

"Because he could already reach the top when he headed back and I couldn't yet and I didn't want to fall behind." Naruto pouted slightly hoping his whole story was being bought.

"Okay, just don't do that again. Stick with at least one teammate."

"Yes Sensei." He nodded his head.

Kakashi sighed again and helped the blond up before sending a mental link to one of his dogs he sent with Sasuke and Sakura when Naruto wasn't where they had been training. He turned with the blonde at his side and headed back to the house.

* * *

"Naruto, you can stay here, eat and clean up. We are going to go to the bridge. It should be finished soon, so we are all going to guard Tazuna. When you are ready you can head down." Kakashi said to the blonde that was sitting at the kitchen table.

Naruto gave a nod and smiled at Sakura, "You guys be careful." He tossed a look towards Sasuke, who wasn't really paying attention to any of this. "I'll hurry."

The blonde turned back to his food after the four left. He ate quickly before rushing upstairs to change. Pulling on his black pants and short-sleeved black shirt he headed back down stairs. He stopped when he heard a noise from down stairs that sounded a lot like wood breaking. He continued down quieter.

He watched as Inari was kicked into a wall after trying to rescue his mom. Naruto thought fast and took a little purple ball down into the kitchen. As soon as the ball hit the ground it exploded in smoke.

Naruto covered Inari's mouth with his hand as he carried the boy and his mother upstairs. He removed his hand and made a quiet sign over his mouth.

"Where the fuck did she goes!" Was screamed from down stairs.

Naruto using what he learned from the tree walking exercise crawled along the ceiling till he was directly above the two sword-wielding gangsters and dropped down. He created a clone as he hit the ground.

The two thugs turned around and sliced both of the boy's in half only to have a small explosion occur. The force sent the two flying back.

Naruto seeing that his fire clones worked walked up and punched the guy that started to get up successfully knocking him out.

"Hey Inari, come help me." The blonde shouted getting some rope. Naruto smiled gently up at the brown haired woman, "I'm sorry about your kitchen and all; I tried to make the least amount of damage."

"Oh, that's alright, thank you for helping us."

"Yeah that was so cool!" Inari said as he helped tie up the two thugs.

"You were pretty cool too, helping your mom and all." He let out a breath seeing that everything was fine now. "Well I better head to the bridge. Are you two alright here?"

"I got everything covered!" Inari announced with a huge grin.

"Alright I'm counting on you." Naruto smiled as he ruffled the kid's hair. "Bye." With that he ran towards the bridge.

* * *

Sasuke was facing off against the fake hunter Nin. Kakashi was up against Zabuza. Sakura and Tazuna were moving the bodies of the injured workers out of the battlefield. Sakura was then using bandaging she had to wrap any cut wounds she found to the best of her ability. When she was done looking the men over she stood up in front of Tazuna and the fallen men.

"You are pretty fast." The hunter Nin admitted as he whirled around ready to deliver another strike with a senbon needle.

"You're not half bad either." Sasuke grunted as he brought up a kunai to block the needle.

"Thank you, however this is no where near as fast as I can go." The boy with long brown hair said before landing a kick to Sasuke's stomach causing him to fall back.

Sasuke slid across the ground before quickly getting up. He was about ready to run back towards the hunter nin when it got really cold.

"Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku called out causing multiple blocks off ice to form around Sasuke.

"What…what is this?" the dark haired boy asked.

"This is my ultimate technique, you cannot escape." With that Haku stepped into one of the mirrors.

Kakashi cursed as he started towards the ice dome.

"Ah ah ah, you do that and I kill the bridge builder. Just calm down and watch the show." Zabuza said with a confident smirk even though his wrappings hid it.

The gray haired Nin cursed but stilled in his actions and watched what happened.

* * *

"Damnit." Naruto muttered from where he was hidden on the side of the bridge. "Aniki, why did you get trapped." He closed his eyes trying to think of what to do. 'Think, think, something, anything.'

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long. Anyways I have a poll for you. But you dont know exactly what you are voting for. Dont worry the voting will go on for the next few chapters. You can vote once per chapter that the poll is up.

Here's the thing, I have two ways that this story can go. I dont know which one to choose so I will let you choose without actually telling you what you choose, that way its still a suprise when it happens.

**Vote:**

**A:** Small amounts of tears all through out the story

**B:** Relatively calm, but major tear jerker at the end

Okay, vote and review. Thanks!


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Eleven**

By Boejangles

* * *

Sakura nearly froze at seeing Sasuke get trapped inside the mirrors. She clenched her fists angry she could do little more then stand there. She reached her hand into the pouch on her leg and pulled out a kunai before throwing towards the mirrors.

Haku who had up until that point been turning Sasuke into a pincushion reached out and grabbed the kunai and looked back at Sakura. What he wasn't expecting was for a kunai to hit him directly in the mask knocking him completely out of the mirror.

There was a lot of smoke and crackling noises. Everyone turned to look at the new presences. "And now I am here and going to beat you all up!"

Kakashi wanted to hit his forehead with his students display, but something wasn't sitting right. This wasn't like his students behavior at all. But there was no doubt that the blonde was standing in the middle of the dissipating smoke.

Haku looked at Naruto and tilted his head watching the boy. This boy seemed different then the one he met in the woods, even if he was the only one that new it was him that the boy met.

Zabuza threw some shuriken which Haku deflected before they could hit the blonde, "Let me handle this Zabuza."

Naruto was being slow and careful. He could feel the drain of keeping the fire clone solid for as long as he was. He covered Sasuke's mouth before he could make a sound. He turned him so that he could see it was he and then motioned with his head that they needed to get out.

Sasuke was slightly shocked at his brother's amazingly cunning plan. He followed out of the mirrors while the clone distracted the others. Once they were out and near the other side of the bridge Naruto was shaking slightly at the concentration needed for the clone before he finally let it explode.

Haku flew back and slid across the ground.

"Haku!" Zabuza shouted after taking a glance at the ice dome and noticing it empty. He turned to Kakashi and attacked knowing they had lost their advantage.

Naruto took a few breaths to steady him before looking at his brother who was pulling out the needles. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke grit his teeth this was the second time his _younger _brother was outright stronger then him. It just wasn't fair. He was older he should be stronger. His rage hit its mark before he lashed out and punched the blonde in the face.

Naruto was completely unprepared for the attacked that sent him backwards. He let out a scream as he fell over the side of the bridge.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed his emotions immediately back in check. He gripped the railing of the bridge as the blonde hit the water.

Kakashi who was blocking Zabuza's blade looked over and didn't see his youngest student anywhere.

"Pay attention to your opponent!" Zabuza spat before blowing another attack that Kakashi barely blocked.

"Sasuke! Where's Naruto!" The gray haired Nin yelled keeping his eyes on the missing Nin.

"He fell into the water!" Sasuke snapped back before a punch to the side of his head sending him to the ground.

Haku was now positive he was the only one that had seen what had actually happened. "You forgot about me!" He said in a deadly voice to the dark haired boy. He had seen himself in the blond boy and had no idea how he would feel if Zabuza killed him. He would die for the man any day, but to have his precious person kill him. That would break his soul.

Sasuke growled as he stood back up ready for a fight.

Haku looked down in the water. There was a chance that the boy was alive, he might have survived the fall. He shot a glance at Zabuza, what should he do.

Zabuza brought his blade down catching Kakashi's side. The Konoha Nin retaliated by stabbing the man in the shoulder his Sharingan long since revealed.

Haku brought up a needle and blocked the dark haired boy's attack. He glanced at the water again before making hand seals with his one hand and disappearing.

Sasuke looked around for any sign of the hunter Nin but found none. His head whirled around to the sound of clapping.

"My, my Zabuza a Konoha Nin and some kid's too much trouble for you?" a short man in a suit who was in front of a larger group of men said.

"Gato, what are you doing here?" Zabuza asked slowly lowering his blade to his side seeing as Kakashi had stopped to listen to the short man.

"Consider this you contract termination. I see your little boy toy isn't here. What a shame I would have liked to kill him." Gato said as if talking about which flavor coffee he wanted.

Zabuza clenched his fists and took a quick look around for Haku, but didn't see him anywhere. "Kakashi, my fight with you is over."

"Understood." The gray haired man said turning to face the new enemy.

Sasuke looked about different emotions running crazy, but most of all he felt confused. He decided to follow instinct and ran over to stand next to Sakura to protect the bridge builder, but the back of his mind was screaming that he shouldn't be rational that his brother had just died!

Zabuza ran at the group intent on cutting off Gato's head. He chopped through anyone that got in his way with Kakashi playing back up with jutsu.

Gato let out a scream as he made a run for it, "A bonus for whoever brings me his head!"

Zabuza got stabbed a few times, but was looking much better then those that he struck. He growled and with a final sweep cut the greedy pig Gato into two pieces.

"Your paycheck is gone, so leave or be killed!" Kakashi threatened creating twenty shadow clones.

The group of men, whose size had been incredibly reduced, started backing away before running for the boats.

Kakashi let out a relieved sigh before it hit him that Naruto had fallen off of the bridge. "Naruto!" He ran over to the railing of the bridge and looked over hoping, praying to see something.

Kakashi whirled a round as an ice mirror appeared behind him. "Zabuza look." He said motioning to the ice knowing it was the hunter Nin's technique.

Haku stepped through the mirror with a soaking wet blonde he was just as wet. He hurriedly set Naruto on the ground and threw off his mask to get a better look at the boy. He lowered his head to the boy's chest. "He's not breathing!"

Sasuke ran over to the blonde's side with horror written over his face.

The brown haired boy pressed his fingers against the boy's neck. "N…no pulse, there's no pulse!" He shot an angry look at Sasuke, "You killed him!"

Kakashi ran over and checked on Naruto's stat's himself. His lips still had some color and the skin still had some warmth, there was still a chance. "Both of you back up now!" He waited for the two boys to back off before going into a set of hand seals. Both of his hands started to flicker slightly with electricity and he hit them down on the younger boy's chest causing the body spasm. He checked for a pulse, still none. He closed his eyes saying a small prayer as he went threw the hand seals again. Slamming his hands down the small boy shook and then stilled.

He closed his eyes almost fearful knowing he couldn't do it again if it didn't work. He lowered his fingers to feel for a pulse. "Thank God." It was faint, but it was there. He concentrated on the boy's breathing, mainly because he still wasn't. He pushed on the boy's chest ten times before breathing into the boy willing his lungs to start pumping. He repeated ten more compressions before the blonde coughed up water before turning unto his side and emptying he stomach. That was all he managed to do before he fell back into unconsciousness.

Sakura was crying and clinging onto Sasuke both were on their knees. Surprisingly Sasuke didn't push her away being too much in shock from his brother technically having died.

Kakashi sat back in relief completely exhausted, emotionally and physically. He covered up his Sharingan before picking up the blond boy.

Haku closed his eyes somehow happy that the boy that was so much like him was alive. He opened his eyes and stared at Sasuke, "How could you push your brother off the bridge?"

Sasuke was on his feet in an instant, "What the hell are you implying!"

"I saw you punch him and him fall off the ledge!"

Kakashi turned around suddenly and stared at his student, "Sasuke!"

"I didn't do it, he's full of bullshit!" The Uchiha protested.

Sakura looked completely lost still having trouble stopping her tears. Tazuna stood off and watched with the other workers that had woken up.

Zabuza evaluated Sasuke, "Haku doesn't lie."

"How's he different then anyone else, I'm not lying! Just ask Otouto when he wakes up, he'll tell you!" Sasuke desperately tried to prove his point.

Kakashi was already weary of Sasuke seeing as this wasn't the first cause of his blond student being seriously injured. "And what did happen Sasuke?"

"He crawled into the ice dome and got me. We got out and made our way to the side of the bridge. He was exhausted and leaning against the rail. When his clone exploded, I'm guessing he used too much chakra, because he just fell over the other side before I could do anything."

The gray haired Nin had been watching Sasuke to see if the boy was lying, but he held himself as if he was telling the truth. "Alright we will wait for Naruto to wake up and ask him. If you are lying Sasuke I will have you personally banned from ever moving up in the ninja ranks."

"Fine, I'm not lying." Sasuke said before glaring at the ground. He had talked more in the last few minutes then he liked to in and entire day. He didn't like the fact he wasn't trusted.

Haku knew exactly what he had seen and glared at the Uchiha. Was this what the blonde had been covering up when they met in the woods; that the dark haired boy was hurting him.

Zabuza turned to look at Kakashi, "Well me and Haku better head off. It was nice fighting with you."

"Yeah, it was better then fighting against you."

Haku looked at a mix of what he wanted to do before looking up, "Look after him." He said motioning to the blonde. He still couldn't get over the look in the blue eyes that he saw in his own.

"I will." Kakashi promised.

With that the two ninja from mist disappeared.

Kakashi gave a look back over every one. From Sasuke who still looked angry, to Sakura who was on the ground and trying to stop crying, the Tazuna who looked like he felt out of place.

Tazuna finally walked up, "Let's head home and get him in bed."

"That would probably be best." The gray haired man said as he cradled the blonde to his chest. He looked back to make sure the other two were following.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello! I got a fast update, hehe.

All right, I think I asked the vote wrong. Don't worry I am still keeping all answers, but I will try and make it more clear for this round of voters (if you didn't vote on the last one and want to then you can)

**Vote:**

**A:** Small amounts of tears all through out the story. More fear and sadness based.

**B:** Relatively calm, but major tear jerker at the end. You are still going to have those points in the story that are sad, but this one has more anger based.

Alright with that in mind leave a review and vote. I am going to try and update again before school starts, if I get to it. Hope you enjoyed!


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Insanity's Slip **

**Chapter Twelve**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto groaned slightly. He couldn't remember what exactly happened. It was like a big chunk of his memory was missing. He kept his eyes closed and tried to remember the last thing that happened.

He could see flashes of things. Someone wearing a mask, it was cold very cold, he hit his back on something and flipped, his head came in contact with something hard and everything went black. Before that, what happened before that?

He concentrated trying to remember. The scene moved; he looked over asking if his brother was all right and…and that's when Sasuke hit him.

He sighed not knowing how to deal with his older brother. That's when he felt something move on his stomach.

His eyes shot open and he looked down. There sitting on his stomach was a long eared pure white bunny. It was just sitting there starring at him.

"That was there this morning when everyone woke up." A voice from the door said.

Naruto looked up and saw Sakura standing there before looking back at the bunny, "Any idea how it got here?"

"Nope, but it stayed with you the entire time."

"How long was I out?" He asked before slowly stroking the bunny. It looked familiar, he couldn't place it, it somehow looked like the bunny that was in the bushes before Zabuza attacked.

"About a day and a half," Sakura said as she came to sit next to him. "Do you remember what happened?"

Naruto looked up from the bunny to her and nodded.

"Will you tell me?" She asked gently.

"I was making my way upstairs when there was a loud noise. So I came downstairs and helped Inari stop these two guys. I ran as fast as I could to get to the bridge and watched to see what was happening. Then I made a fire clone and sent it out to distract the guy in the mask while I got Sasuke. When went as far away as we could to the side of the bridge. I was already getting dizzy and released my fire clone. The next thing I remember was falling. I guess I wasn't careful enough and slipped off the bridge." Naruto paused and had to think about what he had just said and scrunched up his eyebrows, "If I fell off the bridge how did I live?"

Sakura had been nodding slowly throughout the story and then went sad when the blonde asked the question remembering the sad state he had been in. "Haku had jumped into the water and saved you. He brought you back onto the bridge. But you weren't breathing and you had no pulse. Kakashi had to do CPR and some weird electrical jutsu to get your heart to start beating again." She grabbed the blonde hugging him tightly, "Don't you dare ever scare me like that again. I thought you had died and you weren't coming back. I was so scared."

He sat there motionless for a few seconds as it clicked in that he had almost died by Sasuke's hand. His brother had almost killed him. Naruto blinked out of it and patted Sakura's back, "Hey I can't die so easily, I still have dreams I need to get done."

The pink haired girl let go and smiled. "I am going to go tell the others you are awake okay?"

* * *

Sakura entered the kitchen and looked from one male to the other, "He says that he fell over the side."

Sasuke had a thankful look on his face and then looked at Kakashi, "So can I go see him now?" He had been very upsetting that he wasn't allowed to see his brother at all while he was asleep.

"Yes you can. Sakura go up with him."

Sasuke frowned, "You still don't trust me? I told you the truth and Naruto just proved it. What to I have to do for you to trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you Sasuke, it is just that I am being worried. So until I can figure this out then some precautions will have to be taken; if you aren't hurting him that you have nothing to worry about. Now go he probably wants to see you." Kakashi watched the two walk upstairs and stared at his hands that were folded in front of his face.

It didn't make sense; he had truly believed that Sasuke had done something. He had hoped he was wrong, but something still didn't feel right. He rubbed his chin things were too complicated he would have to talk to the Hokage when they got back.

* * *

They left the next morning. Naruto had kept the bunny and named it after Haku the boy he met in the woods and the one who saved his life. They reached Konoha at a reasonable pace.

Once they were inside of the gates Kakashi stopped them, "You all are probably tired, and so you guys head home and I will report to the Hokage."

"Yes Sensei," Was heard from the smallest boy and girl as the three left for their homes.

Kakashi took to the rooftops to get to the Hokage's office. Once he was inside he bowed to the old man, "Hokage-sama, I have my mission report."

"Yes Kakashi come sit down and tell me what happened." Sarutobi said smoking his pipe.

The silver haired Nin walked over and sat in a chair in front of the Hokage. "The mission went from C-Rank to High B low A-Rank. We were attacked by Ninja. Mainly Zabuza Momochi. There was a battle on the bridge we were sent to help protect while it was built. Naruto fell off the bridge into the water. An apprentice of Zabuza had jumped into the water after Naruto and pulled him out. He was not breathing and had no pulse. I was able to get his heart and lungs working properly.

Before that Gato had come in and attacked his own men. Zabuza and I killed all who didn't flee including Gato. However Zabuza's apprentice said that he saw Sasuke punch Naruto over the side of the bridge, Sasuke denied it and when Naruto woke up he said he fell. But neither one of them looked like they were lying and I don't know why the boy would lie about Sasuke punching Naruto. It just doesn't make sense to me."

The Hokage nodded slowly taking in all the information. "I understand Kakashi. You may go, just keep an eye on them during training and missions."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kakashi nodded and left through the window.

Sarutobi sighed and looked at the ceiling, he wasn't sure what to do, but he didn't have a whole lot of time to figure it out. Naruto's life was on the line. The old man sighed again.

* * *

Naruto hummed softly as he folded the clothes from the dryer. Once they got home he had started cleaning up and Sasuke had jumped in a shower. He let a smile grace his face he knew deep in his heart he would be able to fix his brother. He picked up the basket full of clothes and started up the stairs.

A shrill scream filled the house. The blonde dropped the basket and ran to the bathroom, "Sasuke!"

He pushed the door open and froze at what he had seen. His brother seemed to have fallen out of the shower and was staring at his body in horror wiping at his arms.

Sasuke swiped at his arms, "AHHHH! Blood! There's blood all over me! So much blood! Get it off!"

Naruto dropped to his knees and grabbed his brother's arms to try and stop him. "Shhh, shhh, there's no blood. You are okay there is no blood."

"It's all over me, so much blood! Oh my God so much blood! Get it off me!" The dark haired boy screamed thrashing around.

"Sasuke, its okay I'm here there is no blood. You are okay." The blond hugged the older boy keeping the others arms at his sides.

"He's trying to kill me!" Sasuke said staring at the shower.

Naruto looked over at the shower seeing it was empty, "There's no one there it's okay." He tried to sound comforting but he was very scared this had never happened before.

"Ahhhhh!" Sasuke thrashed harder and his face held a look of pain. "Blood! My blood! So much blood! Get it off of me! It's trying to kill me!"

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay I'm here. It's okay nothing is going to get you."

The dark haired boy stopped moving having fallen into unconsciousness.

Naruto looked down at his brother with sad eyes. '_I can't leave him while he is like this. If I leave he will die. I am the only one that will take care of him. I have to help him. I will save you some how Aniki.' _He grabbed a towel and dried off his brother before putting him in some clothes and carrying him to bed. "Please be okay in the morning."

* * *

**A/N: **All right, sorry it is late, but with school and everything. Plus I stay at my friends during the week so I only have weekends to work on this and pretty soon I will have a job. I write the story during the week and type it up on the weekends so I should still be able to update regularly.

Hope you enjoyed! Review and tell me what you think.

**Vote:**

**A:** Small amounts of tears all through out the story. More fear and sadness based.

**B:** Relatively calm, but major tear jerker at the end. You are still going to have those points in the story that are sad, but this one has more anger based.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Thirteen**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto sighed as he looked up at the sky. It had been a week since the incident with his brother and nothing much had happened since then. The group had gone back to D-Rank missions and training, not that he minded.

The blonde eyes went wide when he saw the street light a little behind him flicker on. He jumped to his feet and started running towards home. The lights didn't all come on at once, but block by block. If he was fast enough maybe he could get home before his blocks lights turned on. That way he would be home before curfew and not make Sasuke mad.

He turned the corner picking up speed only to come to an abrupt stop when he ran into something or more correctly someone.

"Hey brat watch where you are going!" the person he ran into shouted.

"I'm really sorry, I was in a hurry and I didn't see." Naruto said as he got back up and started to run again.

The person he ran into grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him up, "You're sorry huh? But you were ready to run off without even seeing if I was okay?"

Naruto finally got a good look at the person he had run into. It was definitely male and was wearing a black suit that had ears on the top of the head and a symbol on the front. He also had something attached to its back. His face read anger.

"I'm sorry, I truly am, but I really have to get home." The blonde pleaded.

"What is it your bed time kid." The older boy laughed slightly at his own comment, "I think I should teach you a lesson about respecting his elders." With that he pulled back his fist and punched the smaller boy right into the fence on the other side of the street.

Naruto brought his hand up to check if he was bleeding at all. In the back of his mind it registered that Sasuke's punches hurt a lot more. He moved and got back onto his feet hoping the boy would let him pass now and he would get in too much trouble when he got home.

"Oh the little boy is getting back up." The taller boy mocked as he grabbed Naruto again and got ready to punch him in the gut.

"Put him down." A chilly voice said from the shadows.

"Says who?" The black clad boy asked stilling his movements.

"His older brother," The voice said moving out of the shadow revealing Sasuke.

"Oh I am so scared." The boy rolled his eyes and threw the blonde into the fence.

Sasuke growled and got ready to fight.

"Kankuro stop being an idiot." Said a voice from the top of the fence Naruto had been thrown into.

"Ga…Gaara. You see this punk ran into me." He said pointing at the blonde that had gotten back on his feet.

"Shut up, you are a disgrace to our village."

The boy now labeled Kankuro visibly gulped and stayed quiet.

Sasuke looked at the red headed boy that was standing on the fence and glared slightly, "Naruto get over here, we are going home."

"Yes Aniki." The blonde said running over shooting a look over his shoulder at the boy named Gaara.

* * *

Naruto fell to the floor after being backhanded by Sasuke. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

Sasuke sent a glare at his younger brother, "I can't believe you! You didn't even defend yourself! You just let him throw you around! You really are a useless idiot aren't you?"

Naruto stared at the ground in front of him. What was he supposed to say that he froze up because he saw Sasuke himself the one hitting him instead of the other boy? He decided to just stay quiet.

"Answer me you trash!" The dark haired boy shouted kicking the smaller boy in the gut.

The blonde grunted slightly. Yes his brother's hits definitely hurt more. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry! You are sorry! What would mom say if I let you die?"

"Mom…?" Naruto looked at him in shock.

"She expects me to take care of you. I would be in so much trouble if you were to get really hurt." Sasuke said moving his arms around for emphasis.

"Aniki…mom's dead." The blonde didn't understand what his brother was talking about.

Sasuke burst out laughing, "What are you talking about? Did big brother put you up to this?"

"Big brother…?" Naruto could feel the room spinning he was going to either pass out or throw up. Sasuke never called Itachi big brother not since they were kids before everything went wrong.

"Are you feeling okay?" The dark haired boy asked his eyes full of life and happiness even though a little worry fogged them, "Do you have a fever?"

He hadn't seen those eyes in so long he had forgotten what they looked like, "Aniki, how old are you?"

"Two years older then you silly." Sasuke joked poking the blonde's forehead.

"How old am I?"

"Five. Now what has gotten into you?"

Naruto's head was spinning. Five…did he really just sat five that would make him seven. This was just impossible. He searched his brother's face for some kind of answer for a reason for all of this to make sense.

Then suddenly Sasuke's eyes changed back. Before he could register what happened he was on the ground again having been punched in the gut, "You really are a worthless piece of trash. Now get out of my sight."

Naruto held his gut for a second or two he wasn't ready for that hit at all. He got up as fast as he could and headed up the stairs. His body hurt and he was extremely confused.

Once he got to his room he laid on his bed without changing. '_What's going on? What's wrong with my Aniki? Why can't I help him? Why cant I do anything?'_ He turned burying his head in his pillow and began to cry.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, but I am stopping here. I have been sick for the past four days and still feel like yuck. Hopefully this will hold you over till I write more.

The votes are in and Option **A** won, so congrats if you voted on that.

**New Poll:**

**A: **I want SasuNaru in the story. (This will not be mutual, but forced)

**B:** I don't care I will read if it does or doesn't have it.

**C: **NO! No SasuNaru, I will not read and I do not want it.

Okay I am making this because quite a few people have been asking for it and this way I get what all my readers want and can go from there. Remember to vote, because your vote counts.

Review and tell me what you think.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Fourteen**

By Boejangles

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long! I have been in a musical and have been writing a midterm paper, and just plain busy. Life happens. The voting was so messed up last chapter that I decided to write two different versions of this chapter and I hit a roadblock with one option. So, by default this will not be a SasuNaru at least at this point in time, because it just isn't fitting and a lot people didn't want it.

* * *

Kakashi looked down at his team part of him wondered if they were ready for this. His eyes fell on his blonde student who was staring at the ground.

"I have a surprise for you guys." The gray haired Nin waited for a reaction.

Sasuke looked up from where he was throwing rocks at a tree with an eyebrow raised.

Sakura looked slightly disbelieving remembering the last surprise was to get to clean a pond.

Naruto's head shot up his mind racing back to the big mission they had just completed and had trouble keeping the fear out of his eyes.

"It's not a mission, but could be even more dangerous." Kakashi paused when he noticed the blonde's eyes, "I have nominated you all for the Chunnin exams. You have to fill these out and turn them in if you want to enter." He handed out the papers before speaking again, " you have the rest of the day off." With that he disappeared.

Naruto stared down at the paper in his hand, he had a choice and he didn't have to do it. He just wouldn't do it.

Sasuke's eyes seemed to gleam. This was his chance this would put him one step closer to killing his brother; closer to his revenge.

Sakura glanced back and fourth between the two boys, they both seemed happy. Well if they wanted to do it, then she could get up the courage to do it.

* * *

Naruto kept an eye on his pot of water waiting for it to boil as he gathered up the rest of the ingredients for dinner. He had a grin plaster on his face. Sasuke had been in a good mood all day and when Sasuke was in a good mood Naruto was in a good mood.

Naruto turned and looked at the kitchen doorway, "Hey Sasuke dinner should be ready in about an hour."

Sasuke nodded and sat down at the table, "I cant wait for this exam it will put us so much closer to our goal."

The blonde turned and looked at hid brother, "I don't think I am going to take it."

The older boy growled slightly, "What?"

"Well I just don't think I am ready. I am younger and not as strong as everyone else. I think I should train more before anything like this." Naruto tried to explain.

Sasuke looked down at the table the anger had left his face and was replaced with sadness. His voice came out as a whisper, "Have I failed to prepare him?" His voice became louder, "I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed."

"Aniki…" Naruto watched him walk off feeling disappointed in himself. He reached over and turned off the stove, he didn't feel hungry anymore.

He watched his brothers retreating form and bit his bottom lip; did he make the right choice?

Naruto walked up the stairs feeling worse and worse about himself. Half of him wished that Sasuke had beaten him instead of becoming sad.

He pulled open his door slowly and walked in falling onto the bed. Digging his hand under his pillow and pulled out the picture of him with his mom.

"Momma what am I supposed to do? I try not to cry I try to be strong, but I just cant do anything right. I can't help him. I can't do anything." He stared at the picture wishing he could hear his mothers voice again, and feel the warmth of her hug.

He looked up his eyes held a determination. He slipped the photo back under the pillow and stood from the bed before making his way down the hall. He knocked lightly on his brother's door before creaking it open.

"Aniki?" Naruto asked into the darkness.

"Hmm?" A voice called back.

"I…I want to take the exams. I want to take them with you."

"Really? Are you sure?" Sasuke's voice seemed more alert then the previous sleepy voice.

"Yes Aniki." Naruto smiled and took a step into the room, "Do you think maybe I could sleep with you tonight…like old times."

Sasuke stared at his brother for a few seconds before catching how much fear that was on the blonds face. "Okay otouto, get in." He moved the blankets aside.

Naruto smiled and crawled into the bed feeling safe. He remembered when him and Sasuke would sneak into Itachi's bed at night and he would pretend he didn't notice. The blonde drifted off to sleep content and lost in memories.

* * *

A/N: Sorry again. I am just so busy. Hope this will hold you over a bit till I get more time. Review and tell me what you think. Lots of Love Boe!


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Fifteen**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto's head was still spinning with what had happened last night with his brother. It was a side of Sasuke he wasn't used to. He glanced up at the picture hanging on the wall across from him; he was waiting to see the Hokage. It seemed that Iruka had felt that some of Genin weren't ready for the exams; so the Hokage was taking their sign in forms personally.

Naruto turned to look at a lady that had called his name; she looked slightly annoyed like it wasn't the first time she had called it. He blushed slightly realizing he had been out of it. He stood up and walked into the Hokage's office.

"Hello Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said with a smile.

"Hello Hokage-san." Naruto bowed slightly.

"Oh don't be so formal, sit down." The Hokage spoke motioning to a chair.

"Thank you." The blonde said putting on a smile and sitting down, "Here are my forms."

Sarutobi took the papers and looked them over, "So tell me Naruto, why do you want to be a Chunnin?"

Naruto completely went blank for a second, "Uhm uh." He looked down at his hands and it came to him, "So I can protect those I care about."

The older male smiled liking the answer, "And what do you want most out of the exam?"

The blonde was slightly confused with e question, "I guess I would like to grow somehow."

Sarutobi nodded slightly, "And what is your greatest fear of this exam."

"That my brother will lose himself." Naruto slapped both his hands over his mouth not believing he had just said that.

"What was that?" The Hokage asked sitting up more in his chair, "Is there something wrong with Sasuke?"

Naruto shook his head no fiercely.

"Naruto." Sarutobi now had a very serious voice, "If there is something going on you really need to tell me."

Naruto clenched his fists and started crying, he didn't want to lie, because he hated lying. If he stayed silent he wasn't lying.

"Naruto, is Sasuke hurting you?" Sarutobi looked at him concerned.

The blonde just started shaking tears still falling down his face, "I try my best."

The Hokage moved around his desk and crouched by Naruto, "Try your best to what Naruto?"

"Be stronger and move on, but I just really miss my family." Naruto had been so ready to tell him everything, but something was holding him back.

Sarutobi pulled the blonde into a hug, "It's alright. Shh it's okay." He decided not to push it right now seeing the boy so vulnerable.

Naruto hugged the older man back and was able to stop crying.

"Okay you are free to go and enter the Chunnin exams, come talk to me whenever you need to okay."

Naruto nodded and gave a half smile wiping his face, "Thank you."

'_Don't worry Naruto, we are going to help you._'

Naruto opened the door leading out of the Hokage's office to immediately find his face meeting the floor.

"Oof!" Came a muffled voice from under the blonde.

Naruto stood up quickly getting off of whomever he fell on, "I'm sorry."

"Great you ruined my attack on the old man." Came the voice of a brown haired boy wearing a yellow shirt, a blue scarf, and goggles on top of his head.

"I'm sorry." Naruto said again this time not mumbled.

The boy crossed his arms and pouted slightly then noticed the blonde's headband, "Hey you're a ninja?"

"Yeah I am." Naruto said with a small smile amused with the boy's quick change in mood.

"Cool my names Konohamaru. How old are you?" Konohamaru asked very interested.

"My names Naruto and I'm 10." The blonde responded holding out a hand.

The other boy didn't even notice the hand since he was in a slight state of shock, "Your ten and you a ninja? I'm nine and I still have to wait three years." The last part was said with a bit of a pout.

"I guess I was a special case." Naruto said feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"You have to come meet my friends." Konohamaru said grabbing the blonde's hand before pulling him along.

Sarutobi smiled having watched the entire scene and was glad his grandson and Naruto bumped into each other.

* * *

Naruto was slightly dizzy by the time Konohamaru was finished pulling him. He was standing in front of two other nine year olds. One was a girl pink shirt, a red cape, and matching goggles like the first boy. The other was a boy wearing an oversized blue shirt, glasses, and the same goggles.

"Hey guys this is Naruto," Konohamaru said pointing to the blonde with a smile.

The girl who had a light orange hair jumped forward, "The one who posses the sex appeal of an adult, Moegi!"

The boy who had hair the same color as Konohamaru's but slicked down jumped up, "The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon!"

Konohamaru then jumped forward, "This village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

"The three of us make…the Konohamaru Corps!" The three spoke in unison.

Naruto stared slightly shocked.

"What do you think?" Konohamaru asked.

Naruto blinked a few times, "Cool!" It felt a little weird being with kids closer to his age; being around kids that liked to play.

Konohamaru supported a confident grin, Moegi had a slight blush, and Udon was fixing his glasses.

Konohamaru stepped forward, "Do you want to play with us?"

"Play?" Naruto couldn't think of any games, "Play what?"

"Play ninja of course," Moegi said with a slight giggle.

"I don't know how." The blonde responded honestly.

"That's okay we will teach you." Udon said wiping his nose on his sleeve.

Naruto smiled and nodded his head, "I will like that."

The next few hours were spent running around, playing tag, learning dance moves, and for Naruto, having the time of his life.

* * *

"You should come have dinner with us, we are going over to my uncle's house." Konohamaru said from where he was laying on the grass.

They had all just collapsed laughing onto the ground a few minutes prior.

"Yeah you should come." Moegi said looking over at Naruto.

"It wouldn't be the same without you." Udon added.

Naruto smiled looking over his three new friends. When he thought about they were his three only friends. The kids from his class treated him more like a puppy and Sakura was more like a sister. He smiled at Konohamaru, "Well if boss wants me to go, then I'll go."

"Alright!" Konohamaru said pumping his hand into the air.

* * *

Asuma opened the front door when there was a knock only to be looking at nothing before he noticed a square rock. '_Here we go again'_, he thought crossing his arms and looked at the poor excuse for a rock before it exploded emitting a lot of smoke.

Moegi jumped out of the smoke first, "The one who posses the sex appeal of an adult, Moegi!"

Udon jumped out next, "The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon!"

Naruto was the next to jump out, "The youngest of this years Genin, Naruto!"

Konohamaru was the final one to jump out, "This village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

"The four of us make…the Konohamaru Corps!" The four spoke in unison.

Asuma raised his eyebrow at the new addition to the Konohamaru Corps. After closer inspection he noticed it was the Uchiha that Shikamaru had mentioned.

Konohamaru took Naruto to the side, "I think we still need to work on your introduction."

"Okay boss." The blonde said with a nod. Konohamaru had already been the official boss of the group and Naruto, being reserved, was not one to try and change that.

Asuma got the boys attention, "Naruto as in Uchiha Naruto?"

"Yes sir," Naruto said with a nod.

"I'm assuming you are all here for dinner." Asuma said wondering if he had enough food.

"Of course Unc its tradition!" Konohamaru said just walking into the house.

"Well come on you three get in." The only adult present said moving aside to let the others in.

For some reason Naruto felt really comfortable just being with people he could joke with and he was able to just forget about everything.

* * *

"Bye Naruto!" Konohamaru shouted giving the other boy a hug when it came time for the blonde to go down a different street.

"Goodnight Naruto." Moegi said with a blush gracing her cheeks as she hugged the older boy.

"See you around Naruto," Udon said with a salute.

"Bye guys I had fun!" Naruto said before running down his street towards the house.

It started dawning on Naruto just how long he had been gone and how dark it was. He opened the door quietly and shut it even quieter.

"Welcome home," a voice that could only belong to Sasuke called out from the dark room.

Naruto jumped slightly, "I'm sorry I'm late."

"Late? Not just late, its way past curfew." Sasuke said and you could tell from his voice he was trying to control himself, "What exactly were you doing?"

"Well I turned in my form for the Chunnin exams and then I ran into some kids and they invited me to play with them and then to have dinner." The blonde explained.

"Well if these kids caused you to come home so late then perhaps you shouldn't be with them." Sasuke said standing up from where he was sitting.

"But they are my friends!" Naruto got defensive.

"Friends that caused you to come home late!" Sasuke yelled back at him.

"They're my only friends!" Naruto yelled.

"Then perhaps you don't need friends!" Sasuke said getting louder.

"You can't tell me that I can't be with my _friends_!" Naruto yelled taking a step towards Sasuke.

The older Uchiha's eyes went red and he smacked the blonde across the face.

Naruto was forced against the door with a hand at his throat.

Sasuke was right in Naruto's face tightening his grip on the blonde's neck, "Yes I can tell you who you can be around and I can tell you whom you cant. Do you really want to test my power in this?"

Naruto coughed trying to get air back in his lungs and was smacking at his brothers hand. He wheezed out something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Sasuke teased loosening his grip.

"You aren't my brother." Naruto said with fire in his eyes fully believing that this wasn't his brother right now.

Sasuke's eyes adapted a crazed looked. He lifted the younger boy off the ground and threw him into the wall. "I see these little 'friends' of your have given you some false spirit. I guess I have to break you again."

Naruto got up and coughed before his eyes flashed red and he lunged at Sasuke, "Give me my brother back! I want my brother back!"

Sasuke flipped the two of them over and punched the blonde in the stomach, "You need to learn your place and learn it now!" His brought his fist back again and hit Naruto in the face.

Naruto felt the air leave him before his head smacked against the floor. "I don't know you anymore," he was able to wheeze out.

"Shut up!" The older Uchiha shouted before he started and attack with both his fists. "You are under me and you need to know it!"

Naruto tried his hardest to turn his pain into anger, but he just couldn't bring himself to seriously hurt his brother even if he wasn't acting right.

Sasuke brought down his arm with a especially forceful punch right into the younger boys forehead.

Naruto heard the crack before he felt it; he felt his hair becoming wet before actually feeling the pain. The pain the started as a buzzing light. The rest of the punches weren't even felt.

When Sasuke finally ran out of energy he got off of the younger boy and stood up wiping the blood from his hands onto his pants, "Don't question me again." With that he left the room up the stairs.

Naruto felt like he was choking and then he realized he was choking, on his own blood. He rolled onto his side and spit up the blood. He slowly reached up his hand and felt the back of his head feeling how sticky and wet it was.

'_I just need enough strength to stand up…just stand up.'_ He forced himself to get up and was able to very slowly. He started feeling a different strength running through him.

Naruto blacked out and couldn't remember leaving the house or how he was walking down the silent dark streets. He would phase in feeling confused and then phase out surrounded by a warm comfort. He wasn't sure were he was going or how his body was even still moving, he just wanted to sleep.

He finally felt like he was waking up when he got to a familiar street.

* * *

Sarutobi sighed; he was up to his elbows in paperwork for the Chunnin exams, which started tomorrow. His head shot up when the door opened. "Oh Kami…" were the only words to leave his lips as he shot up from his desk.

Standing in front of was a Naruto that was practically covered in blood and had some dripping from the back of his head.

Naruto glanced at the Hokage and gave a small smile before falling to the ground.

Sarutobi ran over catching the boy, "What happened to you?" However Naruto was already passed out. "I am going to help you; whether you like it or not."

He shook his head before carrying the boy over to his private medic.

* * *

A/N: Woo! I got myself worked up just writing it. Hope you like. Leave me a review! The more reviews I get the more I want to update. : P Love Boe! 


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Sixteen**

By Boejangles

* * *

The Hokage stared down at the form on his desk thinking back to a few hours prior.**Flashback**

_Sarutobi had run to the medic who was able to heal the boy. When asked about the nature of the wounds the doctor said that some were defensive wounds and other by a hard force contact, definitely not self-inflicted._

_Sarutobi then waited for Naruto to wake up, which happened around thirty minutes later. _

"_Gah my head is pounding!" The blonde complained rubbing his forehead and blinking open his eyes. _

"_I'm glad you are awake Naruto-kun. Your head is hurting because it was bleeding quite badly a little while ago." Sarutobi fixed Naruto with a glance asking him to explain. _

"_Oh, hello Hokage-sama. You see I was being clumsy and I slipped and fell down the stairs. Sasuke was out training so I came to you for help." Naruto said nodding to agree with himself. _

_The Hokage rubbed his chin as if in thought, "That's odd, because I remember you tell me the exact same thing when you broke your arm when you were eight." _

_Naruto fumbled with his hands, "What can I say they are tricky stairs." _

"_Naruto." His voice was commanding, "Please stop lying to me I am trying to help you. Is Sasuke hurting you?" _

_The blonde dropped his head in defeat, "He's just really upset about everything and doesn't know how to deal with it and then I go and get in the way and he gets angrier. It's my fault, if I didn't mess up he would get angry." _

"_Naruto, you can't blame yourself." Sarutobi shook his head; "I am going to remove you from his care." _

"_NO!" Naruto shouted jumping out of his bed landing on his knees in front of the Hokage, "Don't do that please! He'll die without me! He needs me!" _

"_Sasuke needs help and you deserve better then that." The Hokage tried to explain as if speaking to a very young child. _

"_Please don't, I'll be unhappy the rest of my life. Please let me stay with him." Naruto had tears falling down his face and was gripping onto the Hokage's robes. _

"_Naruto, you have to understand we can help Sasuke. We will place you into a family where you can get proper care." _

_The blonde's hair fell into his face covering his eyes, "Please wait until after the Chunnin exams. Let me do that with him. Let us do that as brothers, please?" _

_Sarutobi closed his eyes knowing that he shouldn't, but the younger boys tears got to him, "Alright I'll wait till after the Chunnin exams, but if I do so you must let us remove from the home without complaint." _

_Naruto hugged the Hokage around the waist, "Thank you for this and I'll do as you say." _

"_And Naruto." He waited for the boy to be looking at him, "Come to me right away if he hurts you again." _

"_Okay." _

**End Flashback**

He sighed looking at the form for the removal of Uchiha Naruto from the custody of Uchiha Sasuke. He had signed it for the day after the third test of the Chunnin exams. He would keep his promise and trust Naruto to keep his.

* * *

Sasuke stretched from where he was sleeping in bed and a grin met his face when he remembered today was the start of the exams. He took a shower and got dressed before heading down stairs. He smiled when a wonderful smell met his sense.

"Morning Aniki!" Naruto said from where he was setting a pitcher of orange juice on the kitchen table.

"Morning otouto, whatever you are making smells great." The raven-haired boy said taking a seat at the table.

Naruto smiled proud of himself, "It's omelets. It was in a cookbook I found in the cabinet." He explained setting a plate in front of Sasuke.

The older boy smiled picking up his fork, "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Probably starve." The blonde teased.

"Hey, I could cook if I wanted to!" Sasuke shot back flinging a piece of egg at his younger brother.

Naruto dogged laughing truly happy that his brother was in such a playful mood. "And your aim sucks too."

"Watch it or next time it will be the fork, this foods too good to keep throwing around." Sasuke said with a grin as he grabbed a glass of orange juice.

Naruto sat down and started eating his own breakfast. "So, are you ready for the exams?"

"I'm pumped. How about you?"

"A little scared, but I know I can handle it. Especially with you and Sakura with me."

"We make a good team don't we?" Sasuke asked leaning back in his chair.

"Yup we do! And Kakashi's not that bad either." They both laughed at that.

"Come on, if we don't hurry we not might be on time." The older boy said setting his plate in the sink.

Naruto looked at the clock, "We have two hours."

"Exactly, we better get going."

The blonde just shrugged and followed his brother out the door.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey! Okay it was either update now or give you a longer update in a week I decided you would prefer and update now. How you like and leave reviews for me. In the next chapter or two you will be finding out what you voted for in the first poll . Hope you guys end up like what you chose. Remember to review, it makes me happy.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Seventeen**

By Boejangles

* * *

**A/N:** I am really sorry that it took me this long to update. School has been crazy and I have been sick. All winter break I was at relatives and lately I haven't been feeling at all good. Please forgive me for taking so long.

* * *

Naruto glanced over at where Sasuke was leaning against the wall before turning back and scanning the crowd. They were waiting outside the academy for Sakura.

A blob of red and pink came running through the mass of people, "I'm sorry my mom wanted to take pictures before the big day."

"Hello Sakura!" The blonde said with a wave.

Sasuke glanced at her before turning to walk inside the academy, "Remember to keep a low profile."

Sakura smiled and turned towards Naruto as she started walking. "Why are you wearing a long sleeve shirt? It's burning out here."

Naruto rubbed his arm slightly, "I didn't know what was on the exam and wanted to be ready. Plus I can always take it off if I get too hot."

Sasuke, who had glanced back to see why his brother had worn such clothes, nodded his head in approval to the answer.

Naruto's mind trailed off to Haku as they started up the stairs. He had left the white bunny in Iruka's care, because he didn't know how long the test was. He wondered if the bunny missed him. He was bounced out of his thoughts when he bumped into Sakura.

"Sorry," he spoke quietly before looking around her shoulder to see what had stopped them. There was an odd looking guy in green nursing a busted lip. A girl with her hair in two buns was helping the boy up.

Naruto looked from the scene to Sakura and tapped her shoulder.

"Yes?" Sakura asked turning to face her younger teammate.

"Are you sure this is the third floor? I only remember coming up two flights of stairs." He asked quietly.

Sakura thought about it for a second before grabbing Sasuke's arm and whispering in his ear, "This is only the second floor.

Sasuke looked at her then around at the other genin, they were all Konoha. He turned to the two blocking the door, "Nice Genjutsu, but this is only the second floor."

Naruto glanced at his older brother wondering what he was doing, before realizing he was trying to warn the other teams. He stepped forward, "I think if we go up another level we will be at the right room."

"Yeah?" One of the boys who was at the door asked, "Well you still have to get through us." With that he sent his leg flying towards Naruto's head.

The blond was able to duck in time, but it appeared he didn't have to since the odd boy in green had caught the others foot mid-kick.

The boy who had thrown the kick jerked his leg away and disappeared in a poof with his partner.

Naruto scratched the back of his head looking at the green clad boy, "thank you."

"A favor for a favor, it's the least I can do. I'm Lee." The green clad figure, now known as Lee, said extending his hand.

Naruto went to shake Lee's hand, but was stopped when Sasuke jerked him away, "And we are leaving." Naruto looked bewildered but let him be pulled.

Lee furrowed his brows before racing after the boys, "Wait Uchiha, I want to fight you."

Both Uchiha brothers turned to look at Lee; Sasuke with a bored look on his face, and Naruto pointing at himself bewildered.

Lee shook his head and pointed at Sasuke. Naruto shook his head as if trying to get the strange looking boy to reconsider.

The older Uchiha raised his eyebrow and smirked, "You're a waste of time." With that he turned and continued walking.

Lee became upset and continued following them, "Scared the great Uchiha will be defeated?"

Naruto felt Sasuke tense and whirled around to face Lee, "You want to fight an Uchiha? Then fight me, Uchiha Naruto."

Sakura looked from one boy to the other, "Guys we really shouldn't do this. We have to get to the test."

Lee evaluated Naruto. He had no idea that the blond had been the young Uchiha. He then looked at Sakura, "We have time."

Sasuke looked at the youngest of the group, "Otouto, don't be foolish."

Naruto turned and looked at Lee, "They're right. We want to be fresh on our game for the exam. I promise to fight you after the exam."

Lee nodded, "I will hold you to your word Uchiha Naruto."

Sasuke motioned for his team to get moving and they fell in step behind him.

Team seven stopped when they spotted a familiar silver haired Nin leaning against the wall.

"Yo!" Kakashi said holding up a hand in greeting, "Glad you all decided to come. I trust you guys." _'Make me proud.'_ He smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair a bit before sending them into the testing room.

Naruto looked around in amazement at how many people were actually there.

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuun!" a longhaired blonde hollered before latching onto the dark haired boy arm. Then it came, the high-pitched squeal as she refocused her attention. "Naru-chan! You are just as cute as ever and haven't grown an inch since I last saw you." She now had the young blonde in a tight grip swinging him slightly back and fourth.

You see Ino had decided that she was going to be Naruto's mommy back when she first met him and Sasuke in the academy. She had a rather uncontrollable mother hen side to her.

"Mean old Sakura hasn't hurt you has she?"

Sakura grabbed a hold of Naruto and jerked him back, "Let go of my baby brother pig!"

"He's my baby forehead so back off. You're hurting him." Ino pulled the blond back towards herself.

Sakura gave a mean tug on her teammate, "No you're hurting him pig!"

Naruto sent a pleading look to Sasuke.

Sasuke coughed to get the two girls attention, "Actually he is my otouto."

"Ah of course Sasuke-kun." Ino said and the both let go.

"Man you guys are troublesome." A skinny boy said walking over to the group. His brown hair was up in a ponytail on his head.

"Hey Shikamaru," Sakura greeting with a smile and a wave.

Shikamaru responded with a nod.

Naruto laughed slightly, "You still need to work on your vocabulary."

Shikamaru shifted to give a playful glare to the youngest Uchiha.

Naruto laughed, he knew very well that Shikamaru had a more complex vocabulary then all the genin put together; he just never bothered to use it. He had to be the most brilliant, yet the laziest person Naruto had ever met.

Next to approach the group was a slightly larger boy snacking on some chips, "Hello guys."

The blond turned and smiled at the bigger boy, "Hey Choji." Naruto had met Choji when he was watching the sun rise one morning to get away from everything. They had shared chips in silence, the blond just felt peaceful in the company of the larger boy.

"Ready to lose to me Uchiha!" A loud voice came over the crowd followed by Sasuke taking a light hit on the shoulder as a boy in a furry coat rushed into the circle, "It's here and now that I finally prove that I am better then you."

Sasuke looked at his shoulder then used his hand to dust it off, "Kiba even with your entire kennel at your back you couldn't beat me."

Akamaru growled and Kiba turned away, "We'll see who wins."

"Kiba don't start fights right now. If you were a female I'd say you were in heat."

"I didn't ask you Hinata!" Kiba barked before leaning against the wall and muttering under his breath, "bitch."

Hinata rolled her eyes, "Grow up. This is the Chunnin exam not preschool." With no one to look up to and no one to believe in Hinata cracked under the pressure of her family at a young age. Once she was broken it was simple for her father to mold her into the soldier he wanted.

Naruto looked at Kiba to Sasuke, glanced at Hinata, then focused his attention on Sasuke. He wanted to make sure his brother was still calm. "Well hopefull…"

"You guys should really settle down your bringing a lot of unwanted attention to yourself, you'd think you were all green." A voice broke into all the comments of the group as a boy with a gray ponytail walked towards the group. Even though his comment was a minor insult he had a weird smile on his face.

* * *

**A/N:** All right feel free to ask questions. Sorry it's short, but I thought you'd prefer an update now then wait for a longer one. Did I explain why Hinata is the way she is enough? I'll go in a bit more detail when it is needed. So what do you think? Leave a comment.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Eighteen**

By Boejangles

* * *

Naruto looked at the newcomer and looked to the floor understanding the insult. They just started the test and apparently they were already messing up.

"Hey what do you know about anything?" Kiba snapped to the older looking boy.

"Well I have experience, this is my seventh time taking the test. The name's Kabuto." The now named Kabuto said with a smile.

"So you're a loser that's only experience is failing?" Hinata decided to voice her opinion in the matter. The comment caused Kabuto to blush and Kiba to laugh.

"That may be, but I have inside information on the exam." This statement seemed to catch a lot of the genin's attention.

However one blond wasn't paying any attention. His eyes were locked onto jade green. Naruto had happened to look up and was caught in the stare of the redhead he briefly saw standing on a fence. He didn't know why, but he couldn't seem to look away or figure out why the other one was staring.

"Huh?" Naruto turned when his shoulder was shaken, "Oh what Aniki?"

"You seemed kind of dazed are you okay?" Sasuke asked looking into blue eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine." The blonde said giving a nod.

"Alright, just remember to keep focus on the exam."

"Yeah of course."

There was a small bang as the proctors for the exam entered the room. "Will everyone take your seats!" and so the first part of the exam started. "Alright this is the written part of the exam. Each time you are caught cheating you will lose two points, if you are caught five times you and your team will be thrown out. The final question will be given ten minutes before the end of the exam. You will be graded as a team; if you score too low your entire team will be disqualified. You can now turn over your papers and began the exam."

Naruto flipped over his paper and stared at the questions. What…what was this? Number One Given: Angle TRU and Angle IRN are vertical angles; RT/RIRU/RN. Prove: Angle T equals Angle I.

How was he supposed to know this stuff? Number Two suppose that the lady is not in room B. If she is not in room B, then she is in room A. If she is in room A, then both sign A and sign B are true. Sign A says that in this room there is a lady, and in the other room there is a tiger. Sign B says in one of these rooms there is a lady, and in one of these rooms there is a tiger. This contradicts the fact that once sign is true and one is false. Therefore, what room is the lady in?

Naruto blinked and then blinked again. He couldn't possibly begin to answer any of this. How did this deal with being a ninja? At least the second one had a fifty/fifty chance, now the only question was A or B?

"Alright time for the final question." Ibiki the proctor called out.

What! Naruto shouted in his head. Where had all his time gone? He hadn't written anything down at all. He looked around the room and noticed many people were missing and others were writing at the paper furiously. He wanted to scream at the clock for deceiving him.

"The tenth question is a competition within the three man team you've worked with. The three of you will compete for the tenth question, but one out of the three will fail. Those who fail will remain a genin forever and will never be allowed to take the Chunnin exam again." Ibiki announced.

Kiba jumped up, "Then why the heck have we been working together in these three man squads all this time?"

"I am the rule here! I will not allow any complaints! If you want to give up you may do so. It's also an option to give up this exam now and wait six months to retake the exam. Of course if someone within your team gives up, all three of you will fail. However, you will be allowed to retake the Chunnin exam again six months from now. Now, which will you choose?"

Naruto's eyes were wide. If he chooses to continue and take the tenth question then a member of his squad even him would remain a genin forever. How…how can you make that choice?

Teams were getting up and leaving and Naruto knew that he had to give up; if he were the one to fail Sasuke would be mad. If Sasuke failed he didn't know what would happen. And if Sakura failed he would feel horrible. He started to stand up.

"I give up." Naruto turned to look at where Sakura was standing up. She had given up even though she was almost guaranteed one of the passing spots. Sasuke growled slightly under his breath but got up and walked out of the room.

The redhead from earlier stood up without a word and followed the blond out of the testing room. His team followed shortly.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke who was obviously upset Sakura gave up, but seemed to be working it out in his head. They were being kept in a holding room for some reason. The blonde noticed one by one as the other rookie genin and many other teams entered the same holding room.

* * *

Ibiki looked over those remaining in their chairs with looks of determination. "Is anyone else giving up? Are you sure? Well then, to all those that are left, I declare you all disqualified! Scum like you have no right to become Chunnin! That is all."

* * *

Naruto looked up as the proctor walked into the holding room, "All of you in this room have chosen to fail and take the test in six months then to risk one of your teammates remaining a genin forever. You chose your teammates over yourself. You all pass!"

Sakura let out a whoop of joy while others were still very shocked. Sasuke took a few seconds to process before letting a smirk form on his lips. They had passed. Naruto let a huge grin take over his face, now Sasuke would be happy, he wouldn't have any reason to get upset. The blonde took another look around the room trying to figure out how many other teams there were.

"Hey everybody listen up!" Came the loud voice that was obviously female, "Relocate yourselves to area 77 immediately for the next part of the exam!"

* * *

When they reached area 77 the first thing they would notice besides a huge fence was a purple haired woman standing on a stage, "Welcome to area 77, better known as the forest of death. I hope you're ready to die."

* * *

**A/N:** Hello everyone. Quick update, yay! If your wonder about the tenth question for this exam its from episode 105 when Idate is remembering his exam. I always wondered what would happen if this bunch got that question. Alright leave a review they make me happy and want to update faster.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Nineteen**

By Boejangles

* * *

Anko grinned at the various reactions, "Yes it is very likely you will die. Nature is against you. Man is against you. Considering what you will endure it is likely you will go mad, and then you will be against you. So basically everything is against you. Now that we've got that cleared up get ready for the exam, you have a short break."

Naruto looked over at Sasuke. Five days, could Sasuke make it? He was about to ask his brother if he was okay when a voice broke through his thoughts.

"Naruto!" The blonde looked over and noticed Konohamaru coming towards him.

"Oh boss!" Naruto ran over to meet him.

Sasuke watched the blonde run over to meet some kids and anger sparked into his eyes.

Sakura laughed and set her head and Sasuke's shoulder, "It looks like Naruto has some new friends."

The Uchiha shrugged off his female teammate and turned away from looking at his brother.

Naruto grinned at his friends forgetting about the trouble of the test, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

"Well we were waiting outside the academy to see if you passed or not and when you didn't show up we knew you passed and wanted to come wish you luck," Moegi explained with a smile.

"I knew you could do it, one of my men would never lose," Konohamaru said as if it was his brilliance that allowed Naruto to pass.

"And girl." Moegi protested to the 'men' statement.

"It's really cool that you're taking this exam." Udon said looking at Naruto with admiration.

Naruto gave a small laugh and rubbed the back of his head slightly embarrassed. "Wow, thanks. It really means a lot." He had never had friends to do this sort of thing for him.

"What are friends for," Konohamaru said matching the blonde's grin.

Moegi hugged the older boy tightly, "Be safe okay?"

Naruto nodded feeling a bit odd with someone worrying about him, "I will."

"Alright! Once you beat this thing we'll go have dinner at my uncle's again." The leader of the group proclaimed.

"I'd really like that." Naruto felt like part of something and it made him feel good, "Well I better go do this thing, bye."

After saying all the final goodbyes Naruto returned to his group only to have Sasuke's hand grab tightly onto his shoulder.

He whispered harshly into the younger boy's ear, "Are those the kids I told you _not_ to hang around?"

Naruto's eyes went wide and he swallowed. Was Sasuke going to get like that in front of all these people? "Yes Aniki, I am sorry." He knew this wasn't his brother, but knew he didn't like it when he didn't call him brother. And part of him hoped he could call his brother out.

"We'll talk about this later," Sasuke gave the blonde a small shove and then turned away.

Sakura frowned, she hadn't heard what was said, but she didn't like that her teammates seemed to be fighting.

There was another pair of eyes watching the scene that went unnoticed. The red head continued looking on until it was time for everyone to take their places.

* * *

Naruto kept shooting glances at Sasuke as they made their way through the forest. He didn't know which Sasuke this was or what he could or couldn't say. Right now his brother was a bomb that could go off at any moment.

Sakura took in her younger teammate's state and frowned, he seemed almost panicky, "Maybe we should stop and make camp; you know throw a plan together?"

Sasuke thought about it then decided it was reasonable. Naruto just gave a nod and followed his teammates.

* * *

It had only taken an hour to set up camp and come up with a plan of action. Naruto was sure of the plan, but he sure as heck wasn't going to argue it.

"Sakura, you take first watch. Then I'll take over and then Naruto. We've set up traps so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Yes Sasuke." Sakura responded before finding a spot to keep watch.

Naruto's eyes followed his brother to his tent and then let out a sigh of relief. However it was then that something covered his mouth and he was yanked away suddenly. He knew he was moving fast, because everything was zipping by him. No human should be able to move this fast, right? His head came in contact with something hard and everything went black.

* * *

"Augggh," His head was throbbing and he hadn't even opened his eyes. It was right on the side of his head near the back that hurt the most. He forced his eyes opened to try and figure out what happened, "Ahhh!"

As soon as Naruto opened his eyes he saw jade eyes staring at him. He took a few deep breaths to recover from the shock and screaming, however the other boy didn't react at all. Once he slowed down to take a closer look at the boy he noticed the red hair and recognized him as the one that was standing on the fence. It wasn't making sense.

"Gaara are you just going to look at that brat all day?" Came the voice of someone near by.

Naruto watched as the red head, Gaara, turn to look where the voice came with no emotion and then look back at him. At least with Sasuke he could tell his emotions, it was scary having no clue what someone was thinking. He realized he wasn't bound or anything, but from the other voice he was already out numbered.

"Why?" The blonde was slightly startled by the other's question and took him a second to process he was the one spoken to.

"Why what?" It was the smartest thing he could come up with.

"Why do you follow someone weaker then you?" The red head said staring at the blonde impassively.

Blue eyes widened in realization, "You've been watching me?"

Gaara just continued staring at him waiting for his question to be answered, "Tell me or I'll kill you."

Naruto didn't know what he was supposed to do. "He's my older brother, it's just right that I would follow him."

"You're stronger." The red head spoke as if it means a lot more then just two words.

"I just do, I love him; he's my only family." Naruto felt slightly weird telling a complete stranger, but no one seemed to notice before and if they did they didn't care.

Gaara didn't understand, "The weak follow the strong or they die."

"I have to take care of him. If I didn't no one would. The weak need the strong to protect them." Naruto spoke quietly forgetting that he was speaking with someone else, let alone an enemy.

"Protect them?" Gaara looked really confused, which for him was a very small change in his eyes. "That's not what mother says." The blond was wrong.

Naruto blinked out of his slight stupor, "Mother?"

Gaara turned away from the boy now that his question was answered, "Temari, return him." With that he disappeared into sand.

Naruto felt a funny feeling in his mouth and scraped his tongue against his teeth before wiping it on his hand and looking at it to see sand. Was that what pulled him away? Sand?

Temari huffed and turned to the smaller boy, "Come on, let's go." She started walking fully expecting him to follow before muttering under her breath, "It's amazing your still alive. But nothing that interests Gaara stays alive long."

* * *

Sasuke woke up from his preset timer to let him know when his shift started. He crawled out of the tent and scrunched up his eyebrows when he noticed Naruto's tent flap was open. Poking his head inside he realized his brother wasn't inside.

He turned and approached Sakura, "Where's Naruto?"

The pink haired girl turned to look at her male teammate, "Isn't he in his tent?" She jumped down out of the tree.

"No." Sasuke nearly growled, "He wasn't. Weren't you supposed to keep a watch out?"

"I'm sure he's nearby, don't worry." Sakura said with a smile trying to keep everything calm.

Sasuke slapped her and watched her fall to the ground, "Pathetic. Because of you Naruto's gone." He turned and ran off trying to find any trace of his brother.

Sakura laid still on the ground her hand on her cheek. Sasuke had hit her; he had really hit her. How could he do that?

* * *

Temari turned at looked at the boy following her. "Alright, you are going to keep going straight for about a mile and then you should be at your camp. See ya kid." She turned and started walking back the way they came.

Naruto stared at her, "Thanks." He wasn't really sure if you're supposed to thank someone that kidnaps you. He shrugged and started walking the way she pointed.

"There you are!" Naruto cocked his head to the side to see where the voice came from.

"Sasuke!" The blonde ran and hugged his brother happy that he was still safe.

Sasuke awkwardly hugged his brother back, before holding him tighter. "You really scared me, where did you go?"

"I'm not really sure, this guy just wanted to talk to me. I kind of hit my head and don't really remember what happened after that until I was being questioned."

"How'd you escape?" The older boy asked letting go of his brother to give him a look over and make sure he was okay.

"They just let me go and showed me how to get back." Naruto said with a small smile glad that this was his brother.

"Let's just get back to camp." Sasuke said before throwing his arm around Naruto's shoulder and leading him back to the camp.

Sakura looked up when she heard someone coming, "Oh you found him." Her voice was a bit smaller.

Naruto ran over to Sakura with concerned eyes, "Sakura, what happened to your face? It's all bruised. Did you get attacked?"

The pink haired girl shot a look at Sasuke before shaking her head, "No I just had a little fall." She didn't want the younger boy thinking badly of his brother. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

Naruto gave the girl a hug, "Be more careful. I don't like seeing you hurt."

Sakura smiled and rocked back and fourth holding him close, "I will and you don't run off on me." She played with his hair and looked over the blonde's shoulder at Sasuke. Everything was getting complicated.

"You two get some sleep. I'll keep watch." Sasuke said as he jumped into a tree before shooting a look back at is brother, he was really glad he was safe.

* * *

**A/N:** All right I see I may have gotten off track of the real story the chapter before this. However I was so concerned with updating I didn't realize what I was doing. Karekao smacked some sense into me though. I will admit I was selfish in the reason I changed Hinata's character. You see this is how she would have acted in Crimson Tears and I had something planned in that story that I want to post in this one, but to do so I need her character like this. And it kind of makes sense that she would be different sense she found her strength in Naruto and in this story Naruto isn't the same as the original.

I was asked about the villagers, Naruto and the Kyuubi and how that all works out; don't worry I will explain all that later on.

I stopped here for two reasons; one I am tired, and two I am not sure what I want to do. Remember I had you guys vote on the plot awhile back? Well this is where I can go two ways with the story and since you guys already voted, I just need to figure out how I am going to give you what you guys have chosen.

Hopefully this chapter was better then the last one and you guys like it. Remember you can tell me if I am doing something you don't like or if you would like to see me do something in the story. I will listen to all of it and if I can do it while still being me and keeping my story how I envisioned it then I will be sure to do it.

Okay sorry for the long speech. I hope you liked the chapter. Please review. .


	21. Chapter Twenty

Insanity's Slip

Insanity's Slip

**Chapter Twenty**

By Boejangles

A/N: So I know that you guys voted but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't think of anything to happen next so I had to switch back to the other version.

* * *

'_I don't understand.'_

'He is innocent'

'_What?'_

'_**He is innocent, pure.'**_

'_Am I not pure?'_

'No hunny you aren't pure, but if you bring mother his blood she can make you pure again.'

'You wish for his blood?'

'His blood will make you whole, pure, alive.'

'_Yes mother, I shall bring you his blood.'_

Gaara opened his eyes to look at the night sky. Mother wished for the strange boys blood. He is not one to refuse mother.

* * *

Naruto grinned shooting a look over at Sasuke, "Hey when are we going to get the scroll?"

"Don't worry about it, we still have four days." The older boy responded back.

Sakura looked between the two and shook her head, boys.

However the peace was disturbed when a harsh wind ripped through the trees they were in ripping them from the ground.

Naruto lying on his back looked up at the tree branches above him wondering what had happened. Turning his head he saw Sasuke on his knees shaking his head. Turning to look the other way he saw no Sakura.

"Sasuke, what happened?" His question was answered with a laugh. He turned to look at where the laugh came from.

"Is this what has become of the mighty Uchiha?" It was a grass ninja who had obviously attached them.

Sasuke went rigid turning his head to face the foreign ninja, "What did you say?"

"I said, is this what has become of the mighty Uchiha?"

Sasuke growled and lunged at the enemy, "I'll kill you."

"Well you sure do have attitude, but no strength to back it." The ninja said batting the boy's arms away with little force.

Naruto stood on his feet watching the fight wanting to step in and help his brother, but not wanting to get in the way.

"No you're nothing like Itachi." The extremely pale ninja said.

The blonde froze at that; did this ninja know Itachi? How?

"Don't say his name in front of me!" Sasuke screamed.

"Still sore over him killing your pathetic clan?"

Naruto snarled in anger, "Don't you dare say Itachi killed anyone! He didn't do it!"

The ninja turned to face the blonde with amusement playing on his face before allowing more of his strength to seep through and punching Sasuke clear across the clearing. "Oh really? Then who did? I mean he has the Mangekyou to prove that he killed them."

Naruto took a step back at the question but then the second comment made him get all his anger back, "He didn't do that on purpose!" Naruto's eyes glazed over slightly remembering the horrifying event.

**Flashback**

_"Hey Sasuke wanna pla…" the small blonde child froze seeing his brother talking to an older man. He hid in the bush to try and listen without being seen. He approached the two carefully._

"_You what? You are crazy! I ought to turn you into the police for such an idea, but you being a child and all they'd say it was just your imagination getting away with you." Shishu said glaring down at the much smaller boy. _

"_I don't really need your help, I can do it myself." Sasuke said staring straight back at the older man. _

"_I'll stop you. I'm stronger then you easy. All I have to do is tell your brother; we will both stop you." _

"_Don't you dare tell anyone! Or I'll be forced to kill you." _

_Shishu glared harder at the boy, "You can't kill me." _

_Sasuke pulled out a kunai and got a crazy grin, "and I know that you wouldn't strike me. Killing a small child, now how would that look?"_

_Shishu pulled out his own kunai, "Don't make me hurt you Sasuke, I don't want to strike you." _

_Sasuke's grin got wider and he lunged at Shishu before plunging the blade he was holding into his own stomach. "Ahhhhhhh!" _

"_Shishu!" Itachi cried out as he turned the corner at spotted Sasuke fall to his knees screaming. _

"_A…Aniki…help me…please…" Sasuke said in large pants looking over to his older brother. _

_Shishu had frozen with his kunai in one hand looking down at Sasuke. The little brat had planned a staging, he had never planed to actually kill me; he planned on having his brother kill him. That conniving little…His thoughts were cut off when a punch landed to his face. _

"_Don't touch my brother!" Itachi said in a cold and deadly voice. _

_Shishu fell back into the water; his jaw was aching, but spoke "I didn't touch him." _

"_It hurts Aniki. He said he was going to kill you. I just wanted to stop him, but he was stronger then me." Sasuke spoke from where he was crunched on the ground. _

"_He…he's lying! I would never. You're like a brother to me Itachi." Shishu tried to explain. _

"_Ahh!" Sasuke let out a scream before falling onto his side. _

_Itachi saw red as he dove at Shishu pushing him under the water. There was a fight, but Itachi won with brute strength. _

_Shishu could feel the water entering his mouth and lungs as he fought to get Itachi off of him. He lifted his hand with the kunai to try and slash at Itachi's throat his "stay alive" instincts kicking in, but his hand fell limp back into the water as the boy on top of him added more pressure to his throat._

_Itachi held down just wanting to get Shishu to pass out so that he could throw him in jail and get Sasuke to a hospital, but when he saw Shishu go for his throat he knew that he couldn't let him live. _

_While Itachi forced the boy into the water, Naruto was the only one to notice the crazy grin on Sasuke's face. However when Itachi stood leaving the motionless body in the water and turned around the grin was gone replaced with a look of pain. _

_Itachi picked up his brother and rushed to the hospital. Naruto was shaken and terrified at what he had seen. He ran, ran as fast as he could all the way back home. He never told a soul what he saw. _

**End Flashback**

Naruto was snapped back to reality as his head smacked into a tree and a hand was on his throat. He looked straight into cold yellow eyes, "Oh really? Ashamed your brother's a cold blooded killer?"

The enemy was slightly taken off guard when a body landed on his back trying to choke him, "Let go of my brother!"

The yellow-eyed ninja used his other arm to grab the girl and throw her into a tree successfully knocking her out.

Red chakra flared around the blonde's body as he growled, "Don't hurt her! And don't call my big brother that!"

The other ninja looked amused by the change in the boy, "Well I did hear him say once how his younger brother killed his clan." He leaned in, "Now tell me Naruto, did you lose control of your beast? Let it out to play and kill everyone?"

The red chakra instantly vanished, '_Itachi said that I did it?'_ "I never killed anyone. I couldn't have."

The other ninja seemed to take fun in this, "Did you have fun killing them? Did their blood taste good?"

Naruto yanked his arm back and punched the other man in the face, "Enough! I didn't do it!"

"Oh so you lied to me Naruto? Then Itachi did kill them all and decided to blame his poor innocent brother?"

"Itachi never killed the clan! He loved them…he loved me." Naruto was crying, he couldn't control his emotions. His tears were of anger, but also fear.

"You story isn't making sense. Then who do you suppose killed your family?" Yellow eyes danced with mirth.

The blonde was taking deep panicked breaths trying to find the answer in his mind. His mind flashed and he saw himself covered in blood. _'No that's from hugging her close trying to get her to wake up.'_ It flashed to Itachi with blood on his hands. _'No that's from grabbing Sasuke and trying to hold him down…Sasuke.'_ His mind finally flashed on Sasuke drenched in blood. _'Sasuke did it…he was the one that killed him.'_

The other ninja laughed, "You look scared dear Naruto."

"Sasuke." Naruto was taking in deep breaths trying to get the blood flowing to his head again.

"Dear Naruto its okay that you killed them, that's what I admire in you. My name is Orochimaru and you shall seek me when the time is right."

"I didn't kill them…Sasuke…did."

Orochimaru laughed, "I'm sure." He pulled his head back bearing fangs before bringing his head down digging it into flesh.

"Ahhhhh!"

Naruto gripped his neck with both hands and stumbled back, "What…what did you do to me?"

Orochimaru laughed again, "such power you have. I wanted to see how the curse mark would react to a demon container. You can't fight it, you submit or you die. It's your choice. I don't really care which; I'll take your body either way."

Naruto growled in response in too much pain to speak but a need to show he would never stop fighting. Another round of pain hit him and his leg slipped. He soon found himself falling downward. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the sick bastard staring down at him.

* * *

**A/N:** As I said before I tried and tried to work with the other plot, but I just lost that muse. Then I finally gave up and decided to switch to the other plot difference. In the long run the ending is still the same, just the journey getting there is a bit different; same basic plot. My muse just happens to whisper in my ear with this one. All right so tell me what you think. I love reviews; they make me happy. Remember you can ask questions, make complaints and suggestions, or just tell me you love it! .

This has been edited thanks to Hitomi No Ryu's observation.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty One**

By Boejangles

* * *

Ino paused looking back at Shikamaru and Choji irritated that they were being slow, "come on guys hurry up already." She shook her head impatiently and looked back in front of her. She tilted her head in confusion, _'pink? Sakura?' _

Jumping down out of the tree she rushed over to the fallen figure of Sakura, "Shikamaru get over here now." she noted the blood that trailed down the girl's forehead and colored the front part of her hair.

"Geez what's the rush…" Shikamaru stopped at seeing the fallen Sakura he looked around searching for her male teammates.

Ino used the cloth of her arm brace the clean up the blood and locate the wound. It wasn't as bad as it looked seeing deeper wounds bleed less. Ino assumed Sakura had hit her head on the tree. It looked as if the girl would be fine besides a major headache when she woke up.

Shikamaru shook his head when he found the unconscious body of Uchiha Sasuke. He was beat up a bit, but no wound looked incredibly worse than the others as his entire back was painted red from where he slammed into a tree and tore the skin open.

"I found Naruto," Choji called out looking down at the boy with a sad frown.

"My baby!" Ino came rushing over and quickly examined the blood for injuries. There were a few bruises and a strange mark on his neck, but otherwise he was untouched. The blonde haired girl looked from one of her teammates to the other, 'We have to look after them till they can fend for themselves."

Shikamaru sighed looking back to the older Uchiha, "What a bother, but you are right." He picked up Sasuke and tossed him over his shoulder, "well let's get a move on we can't get far with this much baggage when need to find a place to camp."

Choji nodded and picked up Naruto then went over and picked up Sakura, "lead the way."

* * *

Sasuke bolted up into a sitting position and grabbed the wrist of the person that was getting ready to touch him. Turning his head to look at the person he realized it was the girl from the academy Ino.

Ino had startled at Sasuke's sudden movements and her eyes had grown wide, "g..good morning Sasuke."

Sasuke kept a hold on the girl's wrist, "what where you doing?"

Ino stumbled on her words trying to get an answer out fast, "I…I was j...just checking on your wounds. We found you unconscious."

The Uchiha gave a nod and let go of the blonde's wrist, "where is my brother?"

Ino motioned to the other side of the cave that they had taken team seven to recover.

Sasuke pushed himself up even though it still hurt a bit and walked over to where his brother was laying. He leaned down and shook his shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that, he just stopped convulsing." came a voice from the entrance of the cave.

Sasuke looked over to see Shikamaru entering the cave with his arms full of fire wood, "what are you talking about?"

Shikamaru set the wood down before setting up the pieces for a fire, "what a bother, I already said it, he has been convulsing every now and then and it takes a bit to get him to stop, so if you would not shake him."

Sasuke glared, but removed his hand from his brother. Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered his other teammate, "what about Sakura, where is she?"

Ino decided it was a good time to jump back in the conversation as it looked as though Shikamaru was done talking for awhile. "She woke up earlier today; she is out with Choji getting food."

Sasuke gave a nod before staring at the dirt in front of him, "why are you doing this?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "you really don't get it." He looked at the Uchiha before shaking his head again, "we are all Konoha ninja, and we take care of each other."

Sasuke frowned slightly at this answer and decided to turn his attention to his brother.

* * *

**A/N:** So it's like three am and basic mind functions are starting to fail, but I wanted to get this out to you guys so that you know I am a live and can have a small preview of what's going to happen. I've written down all my ideas for the next chapter and will get on it when my brain is functioning better and after my friend is finished visiting. Under a month I promise or you can throw rotten vegetables at me and spam up my e-mail with hate letters. I'd even say t expect it in a week.

Please leave a review they make me happy it was actually a review that got me to write this. So you guys can thank the person that pointed out I hadn't updated for five months. o.0 I plan on catching my muse in a jar so it can't get away this time.

So tell me what you think. Take care, be well, safe travels, and blessed be.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

By Boejangles

* * *

**A/N~** -gets ready for yelling- Alright, I am really, really, really sorry. I know I said in under a month, but the week after I posted the last chapter I had an accident while hiking with my friends. I ended up breaking a few ribs and getting a bad concussion. I was out of school and on bed rest for a couple weeks. I still get nasty headaches from it. I have also had tons of trouble concentrating, because of the pulsing in my head. Then, because I was out of school I had a lot of makeup work, plus all the new work they were doing so I was swamped. Let alone, after I came home from school I was so exhausted and in pain that I would go to sleep right after finishing homework. I am really, really sorry that I made you guys wait so long and I hope you can forgive me. I don't know when I will have time to update, because I am taking a few college level classes, some that I have to pump out a story once a week. I am not going to set any more deadlines though; every time I do I end up in an accident of sorts and can't follow through. Anyways I hope you like this chapter. If anything makes absolutely no sense, blame the concussion.

* * *

Naruto's body arched off the ground and his arms flailed at his side. His legs twitched as his head shook back and forth, and up and down at the same time.

Sasuke rushed over to his brother not know what to do. "What's happening"?

Shikamaru was next to Naruto instantly and was holding his head still to keep the boy from injuring himself. "Pin him down so he doesn't break something."

Sasuke complied and held the blonde's arms and legs down, "What's happening to him"?

"I don't know. He has been doing this in odd intervals since we found you guys. The first time he bit open his tongue," Shikamaru spoke in a calm voice.

Ino approached the group with a bowl of water and a piece of ripped shirt. She moved the wet cloth over the Naruto's face. As she did this she hummed, trying to calm the boy.

Soon the youngest Uchiha's body stopped twitching and became still.

Shikamaru sighed and let go of the boy's head, "That one was much shorter." The female of the group responded with a nod and continued running the cloth over the boy's face.

Sasuke moved off of his brother, but pulled him into his arms. He rocked back and forth holding his brother close. "Naruto, oh Naruto, what happened to you"? He slowly laid the younger boy back to the floor, not wanting to start him into another fit.

"Oh, you are awake," the cheerful voice of Sakura came from the entrance of their hideaway. Choji smiled and gave a wave from his spot next to the pink haired girl. The girl's smile broke at seeing the sad looks from around the blonde. "What's wrong with him"?

* * *

Naruto hugged himself and shook, it was so cold. Or he should have thought it was so hot, the truth was the air around him was so intensely hot, that it was cold to the sense. The blonde took a fearful look up from his knees at the two beasts fighting.

A giant crimson fox was battling a black monster. There was no other word for what the black thing was.

"I will not let you harm my child!" The fox boomed at the black creature.

The inky monster laughed in response. "Fine, let us fight and tear the boy apart from the inside out." A booming laugh shook the room, "You will kill the boy by not letting my have him."

Naruto shoved his head between his knees and covered his ears.

* * *

Shikamaru looked Sasuke directly in the eyes. "Are you sure you will be alright? We can wait till Naruto wakes up."

Sasuke shook his head, "No, go get your scroll. There's no point in all of us being useless. Sakura and I can take care of him."

Shikamaru nodded and looked at his teammates, "Alright, let's go."

Ino brushed back Naruto's before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. "Get better my baby." With that she got up and moved over to Shikamaru.

Choji looked over the three of team seven and smiled, "Take care of him, and be safe. See you at the tower."

Sakura waved them all goodbye as they left. She turned her attention back to her blonde teammate. "Oh, please wake up soon."

* * *

**A/N~** Gah, my head is absolutely killing me. I wanted to let you guys know I was alive and I wasn't letting the story die. –rubs my head- I will do my best to write more this weekend when my headache goes away, no promises though (since we all know what happens when I promise.) Please review, even though it isn't much, and tell me what you think.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

By Boejangles

* * *

Sakura frowned looking down at the small blonde boy. She wished so could understand what was happening. The boy had broken into a fever after his last fit of shaking. Her finger traced over the small black mark at the base of the boy's neck. She jumped when a groan passed through the boy's lips. Her eyes darted around in fear thinking the boy was about to start shaking again and Sasuke was not here to help. He had left to get more wood, to try and get his brother's outside temperature up and break the fever.

Glimmering blue eyes attempted to stay open against the burning sensation they felt. Naruto groaned again feeling a horrible pounding. He moved his hands to his head and sat up in a jerking motion that Sakura promptly screamed and then fell on her backside.

The blonde turned to his sister figure in confusion wondering what had happened, when a pain shot through him telling him he needed to more. He stood up in a quick motion and started walking toward the entrance, only knowing where it was because of the increased light.

As he was making his way out of their hiding, his brother was making his way in.

"Brother, you are well. I was so worried!" Sasuke spoke in a rushed voice, dropping the wood, "You should not be up, and you need rest."

The blonde looked up with very little recognition in his eyes, pain blinding his sight. "Get out of my way."

The older boy frowned at his brother's actions. "I will not move, now go back and lay down right now."

Naruto's eyes flashed red before black. "Never boss me around ever again!" His voice started deathly quiet then ended in a scream, as his arm wiped out and stuck the older boy sending him into a nearby tree.

The dark haired boy let out a scream as the wounds on his back reopened when slammed against the tree.

Sakura, who had followed the blonde after recovering from shock, stood wide eyed at what she had just seen. The kind innocent shy ball of sunshine had just punched his older brother into a tree. "Naruto"! The pink haired girl ran to her older teammate trying to make sure he wasn't hurt, while still staring at the blonde in confusion.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by clapping. "Bravo. We were going to threaten them to bring you out, but it looks like you handled the curse seal quite well. I am actually impressed you like. Now, I owe dickwad here my next month of pay checks. Oh well, now that you are alive we can kill you." With that the strange boy grinned.

The young blonde growled at the three new comers. "Leave or die."

"Aww, Dosu, I don't think he liked your introduction," the other male of the group spoke with fake hurt in his voice.

"Zaku shut the fuck up, less talk more killing," the only female said irritated.

"Kin, you whore, let me have my fun," the male shot back.

The blonde growled again and glared at the three. "Not fast enough," he spoke referring to his command to leave.

"Yo, kid, you can't talk to your elder like-" The boy was cut off as a black mass shot out of the child he was speaking to and shot towards him.

Naruto stood glaring at the three as the inky blackness bled from him and struck out towards the trio. The dark appendages that had grown from him twisted around the three and squeezed. "You talk too much."

The trio from sound struggled against the black mass, but they were bound and shooting chakra outwards to break it was only absorbed making the binds stronger. Kin screamed out and coughed up blood. Zaku and Dosu were struggling not to cry out like their teammate, only making pain filled grunting noises.

"Pathetic," was all the blonde said before glaring harder making the inky creature tighten one hundred fold around the three helpless ninja slicing them into pieces. The inky eyed blonde glared at the corpses before walking up to them. He reached down to the one who had first spoken and pulled out a blood soaked scroll. The black mass was raging wildly behind him.

The small boy's eyes shifted back to blue as the blackness was absorbed back into his body. He stared at the destruction he had caused wide eyed. He started to shake uncontrollably all color leaving his face. The young boy couldn't comprehend what he had done. Falling to his hands and knees he emptied the contents of his stomachs onto the dirt floor of the forest. When there was nothing left to come up, he dry heaved, until blood took over as the liquid leaving his mouth. The copper taste filled his mouth and overwhelmed his senses as he choked up another mouthful of blood. The boy's arms gave out and he fell into his own mess of stomach contents and blood.

The scroll the blonde had been holding rolled over to a shell shocked Sakura and Sasuke. The older boy was the first to react and ran over to his brother; pushing the fact the boy punched him into a tree to the back of his mind. He rolled the boy out of the mess to keep him from drowning. He looked down at the liquid, horrified at how much blood his brother had just spilled without receiving a single injury.

The only female looked green and ready to be sick herself. She reached down and picked up the bloody scroll barely registering it was the one they needed. She lost the battle over her stomach and bent over sending everything she had eaten the past day onto the earth.

Sasuke used his shirt to clean up his brother, trying to concentrate on the little thing to keep from panicking. However, he lost his resolve when the small boy in his arms started convulsing again like he had before he woke. "Sakura, get your shit together, we have to get him to the tower now." He looked down at the younger boy, "Don't die."

The pink haired member of team seven looked over at the two males and paled at the condition of the youngest one. "Naruto…"

"Move it!" The older male screamed.

* * *

The red fox growled fiercely at the black creature. "Leave him alone"!

The inky creature simply laughed in response. "You are killing him you know- tearing him apart little by little from the inside out. If you keep it up, he will die. Just sit back like a good little fox, let me be in control, and everyone will live happily ever after."

"Never!" The fox shouted back, moving to look at where the blonde was cowering in the corner. "Naruto, come to me."

The black creature frowned and looked at the child then to the fox wondering what it was thinking.

Naruto slowly used the wall to stand up looking from one creature to the other. He took a small step towards the fox.

The dark monster frowned and moved to stop the boy.

"Naruto! Run! Run dammnit, come to me!" The red creature screamed seeing the monster's movements.

The blonde's frightened eyes moved to the black thing before taking off in a run towards the furry creature. He dove between the bars as a cord like thing wrapped around his foot. He let out a scream of pain as it tightened around his ankle. However, it quickly dissipated as a fluffy tail was wrapped around him and he was engulfed in a warm red glow.

The inky creature banged on the cages of the seal in fury, "You can't do this. Let the boy go."

The fox only growled holding the boy protectively. "Go to hell."

* * *

**A/N~ **Neh, neh, what do you think? You like it? Well tell me what you like or dislike about it. Praise, complaints, questions, worries, request, all are welcome. I have the next few parts sketched on paper waiting for me to have free time to type it up. ^.^ Hope you enjoyed. Please review, I love feedback.


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

By Boejangles

* * *

Smoke, crisp thick smoke, was the first thing that assaulted a young blonde's senses. His nose twitched slightly before his eyes opened to see the yellow flames licking at the sky.

"You are awake. I was so worried after you fell into another fit," A soft voice spoke from his left. He turned his head to look at the girl that had a smile on her face, but held hurt in her eyes.

"Sakura, what happened?" asked the weak voice of the smaller boy.

"Oh Naruto, you were having these terrible fits. I thought that you were going to die. Then…" she trailed off looking into the night past the blonde's head.

Worried, Naruto prodded for his teammate to continue, "Then what?"

As if it hurt her to say anything more, Sakura continued in a weak voice, "It was like you were possessed, Naruto. You had a crazy look in your eyes. You, it, felt evil. Naruto, you tore apart three people and were completely calm. You threw Sasuke into a tree. Then you fell into another fit, only this time you were coughing up blood."

Seeing the fear in Sakura's eyes, he turned away from her and hid his own worry. He had done those horrible things. He had killed not one, but three people. He had thrown his brother into a tree. Realization hit, he had thrown Sasuke into a tree. He was going to die- Sasuke was going to kill him. Why hadn't he already killed him? Was it to keep witnesses out of it?

"Is he here?" Naruto asked his pink haired teammate referring to his brother.

Sakura nodded, before realizing the boy wasn't looking at her. "He is on the other side of camp fixing the food."

Nodding in acknowledgement the blond stood up. "I need to go talk to him." Naruto didn't wait for a response; instead he located his brother and made his way towards him. Sitting next to the older boy, he bowed his head towards the ground. "Aniki, I am so sorry. I don't know what happened. Please forgive me."

The dark haired boy continued working on the food without acknowledging his brother had said a word.

Naruto hung his head lower feeling horrible. "Please believe me, I am so, so, so, so sorry. I never would hurt you purposely. You know that, Aniki. How can I make you believe I am sorry"?

Sasuke finally turned to address his younger brother. "What you did was wrong. However, it seems you realize that. You should be glad I need you to finish this test. After we are done, you will receive punishment. Now, leave me."

"I understand, Aniki," the blond spoke quietly before giving a small bow and rushing away from the older boy.

The ten minutes that passed before food was ready went by in tense silence. When Sasuke came over and handed his two teammates their food, Sakura took her chance to break the silence.

"Oh, this is much too much food for me. Naruto, you seem to have less. Would you mind trading with me"?

Looking down at his food, the blond nodded and offered his meal.

"Sakura, I'd keep your own meal and let Naruto eat his," Sasuke spoke without looking up from his food.

With a laugh, Sakura shook her head, "No, I don't want to waste food. Plus, Naruto all ways has a bigger appetite then me." She took the blonde's offered plate and gave him her own.

The rest of the meal went by in silence, everyone's minds in other places, before Sakura made a funny face and darted away from the camp.

"I warned her," The older boy mumbled when the sound of heaving entered the camp.

Naruto looked at where his sister figure had run off to before turning to his brother with horror in his eyes. "You, you poisoned her."

"Actually, I poisoned you, she was the one stupid enough to trade food," the older boy spoke completely calm. "I'm going to bed; tomorrow we will finish our journey to the tower."

Still shook up, Naruto rushed to where Sakura had run off. Once he found her, he kneeled next to her and rubbed circles on her back. "I am so sorry," the smaller boy whispered.

The pink haired girl gagged on the fluid moving up her throat as she wondered why the blond was sorry. The food must have not been cooked right, or whatever the blond had was making her sick. Even then it wouldn't be his fault. He hadn't chosen to be sick. She lost her train of thought as more of the vile liquid made its way through her.

* * *

Having both scrolls, team seven traveled in a straight line towards the tower. They were surprised to meet very little resistance, and were able to make it to the large stone building before the sun began to set. However, they were not the first team, nor the second. In fact, multiple teams had already made their way to the tower. The older members of team seven were actually surprised that the third member had remained in good health.

On the other hand, Naruto was shocked that they had been in the forest nearly five days. When the sun finally set into the horizon the test would be over.

It was only a few hours until the burning globe disappeared from view. Most teams took this time to rest, eat, and discuss how the test went. The calm was broken when a jounin coughed and made his way onto the stage. He then blew a whistle, so that all eyes were focused on him.

"Now that I have your attention, it appears that we have too many candidates left. So, we are going to have one on one battles to eliminate half of you. Please direct your attention to the board that will inform you who you will be fighting."

All eyes turned to the flashing board waiting to see what it would land on.

* * *

**A/N:** All right, what do you think? I ended here, so that I could get your input on who you want to see fight in the prelims. I have a rough sketch, but if there is any fight any of you really want to see and it works with what I have planned, then I will see what I can do. Basically, I know who I want to pass on to the next round of the test, but which person to fail fights which person to win can be shuffled around. There is only one fight that cannot be changed, but you will have to wait and see which match up that will be. So, tell me what you want to see. Along with what you thought of this chapter, likes, dislikes, complaints, critique, praise, anything you might have to say. I look forward to hearing from you.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

By Boejangles

-/-

The names Rock Lee and Akado Yoroi appeared on the bored.

The green clad boy shot his arm into the air with a happy cheer, "I knew my flames of youth would cause me to be first"!

Yoroi was a male on the previously introduced Kabuto's team and was a leaf ninja. He walked down the steps to meet the excited male that had jumped over the banister.

"I am happy to be fighting you today Sir Akado, I wish us a merry fight and may our youth shine bright!" Lee exclaimed with tears in his eyes holding out his thumb and grinning. The other male simply raised an eyebrow before getting into position.

"And begin!" the proctor called.

Yoroi started the fight by swinging at the other male. However, the green clad one simply dodged each hit with a smile on his face. "You have much youth Akado, it is impressive."

Angered the male dressed in black flicked both of his hands out igniting them with chakara. "I will end this fast and just suck you dry of chakara."

The other male shook his head when the first one grabbed on his chest intent on stealing his chakara. "I am sorry Sir, but I do not function on chakara so your attack is useless." With this statement he brought his arm back and punched the black clad boy in the face sending him tumbling to the other side of the stadium.

Yoroi shook his head standing up with slight horror in his eyes, this guy was abnormally strong. He quickly raised his hand and shouted that he quit. With his ability to suck chakara out the window there was no way that he could win on strength alone.

"Thank you for the fight Akado, next time we meet perhaps we can show are youthfulness a bit longer," Lee spoke with a smile.

The proctor called the fight naming Lee the winner and ushered the two out of the arena so the next fight could began.

The board flashed several times before landing on a pair of names: Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata.

Neji let out a small snort as if he thought it was a joke entering the center, while Hinata simply grinned at her cousin.

The male looked the female over from head to foot, "You know that you are going to lose, it is in your destiny. It is impossible for you to win against me. So why try? Just give up now."

The dark haired female let out a condescending laugh, "You must have not checked your fortune cookie today, you will be gravely sorry that you were paired to fight me."

The older male simply shook his head and took stance, "You think simply being a head member will make you powerful enough to defeat me? You are weak, and as a branch I will reveal where you truly belong- on the ground with me looking down on you."

Lavender eyes simply smirked in response before the girl fell into her own stance.

"Ready and begin!"

Neji shot out with his hands in points striking at the female. Her hands were quick to fight his off, her hands taking the same shape that his were in. Their arms were moving so quickly it was difficult for spectators to follow the movements. The males hand caught the female's wrist causing it to twist slightly which enraged the female.

"You ruined my life!" Hinata screamed at her cousin, "Why can't you be more like Neji, why aren't you strong like your cousin, why are you weaker than a branch member, how are you supposed to run the clan if you are worthless! So, I became smart and trust me smart beats strong every time"! With this proclamation her hand shot out and smacked the male in the face.

He was shocked to find that she hadn't applied chakara to it and then became furious as he felt belittled. His arms began to move faster hitting the girl several times in the stomach. She bent over clutching her stomach with one hand while warding off his moves with the other.

It seemed the Neji had taken control of the fight since he was landing more blows then the female. "Give up now or suffer," he declared.

Hinata shook her head and landed a particularly forceful hit on the male. Neji pulled his hand back and landed an aggravated blow on his cousin's chest. With the impact the girl flew forward curving around the male, her second hand moving for support. There was a sharp cry from the tangled mass.

They both stood tall unmoving, then there was a cough and blood fell to the ground. Hinata smiled with a mouthful of blood. She could feel her heart becoming erratic, but she grinned as blood trickled down her chin. "I win," she said smoothly.

Neji's eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly open. His eyes moved to look at his side where his cousin's hand was- blood was gathering around the hand. "Whe…n…n"? He had never seen her grab the weapon.

She jerked out the kunai with a small cough of blood, "When you hit my stomach. Now that I have removed it, you will drown in your own blood." She winced as her hand moved to her chest and she fell to her knees- the pain in her heart becoming intense.

Gasping for air, Neji found it hard to breath. The blood was filling up his lung and he couldn't make it work properly so the other one was going crazy trying to compensate. His world swam before fading and he faintly felt pressure as his body met the floor.

Hinata soon followed to the floor after her eyes became very wide then closed. Medics ran into the center and started administering to the two Hyuuga's.

The proctor cleared his throat then called the match a double knock out and neither would go onto the final round.

-/-

Naruto had watched the fight with wide eyed apprehension. They were family and they tried to kill each other. He simply couldn't understand how one could be so violent to someone that they loved. His eyes slide to look at Sasuke. Sure his brother could be violent, but he never tried to kill him, not really.

His eyes refocused on the medics carrying the two out of the stadium. Even though he didn't know the two very well, he hoped that they would be okay.

Shaking his head he voiced his thoughts with a hushed, "That was harsh."

Sasuke turned to look at his younger brother, "It's a battle, only one can win. This means you have to go all out. If you were paired against me I would expect you to do your best to defeat me."

With shocked eyes Naruto shook his head, "I could never"!

Narrowed eyes pierced into blue, "If you didn't I would be very angry with you and disappointed that you would let me down."

"But…but I love you Aniki, I couldn't hurt you…" the blond trailed off when his brother's glare intensified.

The raven haired boy grabbed the younger boy's shoulders, "If you love me then obey me." With saying that he gave the boy the slightest of pushes and turned his attention away and to the ring.

The arena had been cleaned of blood and was ready for the next match. The board sparked back to life and produced two more names: Uchiha Sasuke and Misumi Tsurugu.

Sasuke sent a quick glance to his brother then jumped over the banister and into the arena. He was ready to let out a bit of anger and this fight was a perfect resource.

Sakura watched Sasuke leave and looked to Naruto. The boy seemed fine now, but she was worried. Sighing, she looked behind her at where Kakashi was leaning against the wall. The sensei had entered the building when the need for preliminaries was announced. She slowly made her way back towards her sensei, making sure to not alert Naruto.

"Kakashi, I need to speak with you alone," she spoke very quietly once she was directly next to the man.

The silver hair male raised an eyebrow, but nodded and led them to the corner of the observation deck. "What is it that is bothering you, Sakura"?

"It's Naruto," she said shooting a quick glance his way, "He has been having fits. I think he is sick. He would go into seizure like things and cough up blood. I don't think he should fight. I think, Sensei, that you should stop him."

Kakashi rubbed his chin while looking at the girl. "I'll keep my eye on him and if something happens I will step in. Now tell me, did something happen in the forest"?

Moving her hand to the back of her head, she felt her still healing wound. "I...I don't know. I can't remember the first part of the exam. The first thing I remember is waking up in a cave with Ino's team."

The older male frowned, but nodded. "Alright, let's go watch Sasuke's fight." He was concerned and would have to find out what happened from his other two students. Leading the girl back to the banister they had been at before, he gave a careful look to the blonde and wondered what he was going through.

Naruto grinned at Sakura, having not noticed her leave or come back. "Sasuke is going to win no problem, I know it!" He turned back to watch Sasuke fight. Even with everything he had gone through, he loved his brother unconditionally and loved to watch him succeed.

The fight had been going on for a few minutes, but no one had pulled out any special moves. They were simply testing the water, seeing what the other's level was. Sasuke smirked as he circled with the other male.

"You know the Anaconda is more deadly than most snakes in the wilderness. Do you know how it kills?" Tsurugu spoke for the first time.

The raven raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"One would think a bite, poisoning the victim. That, however it wrong." The larger male shot his arms forward, stretching them to impossible lengths and wrapping them around the Uchiha. "They squeeze their victim until all of their bones snap and it suffocates."

Sasuke pushed against the hold fighting against the squeezing pressure. He was able to force his hands together and into a string of symbols. His face was scrunched in pain against the ninja's attack. He performed the last hand sign as the air escaped from his lunges. With a wheezed grunt, his body ignited in flames catching the opposing ninja on fire.

Screaming Tsurugu released his attack and waved his arms around trying to put off the flames that were spreading to his chest.

The raven took in a few deep breaths of air before regaining his stature. "Hey moron, if you are on fire there's a set thing you are supposed to do." Whirling around, he lashed his foot out knocking the other teen in the face sending him flying. "Stop, drop, and roll."

Tsurugu indeed rolled along the floor from the force of the blow and stopped when his body collided with the wall. When he was completely still smoke trailed from his slightly charred body. He did not move to rise.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke," the proctor announced.

Sasuke smirked and made his way back to his team.

Naruto was staring at him with wide eyes and mouth open. "That was amazing! When did you learn to do that? How did you learn to do that? I've never seen that before in my life. That was awesome Aniki"!

The older Uchiha ruffled his brother's hair and gave him a smile, "I was inspired by your exploding clone. I'll show it to you when you are ready."

"Quite an impressive fight Sasuke, don't you think you went a bit overboard?" Kakashi spoke, motioning to the ninja with char marks that was being carried out on a stretcher.

"I didn't kill him," the boy responded bluntly.

Sakura gave a small smile and turned to see who would be fighting next. So far a lot of strong opponents had fought and she was getting nervous for her battle.

-/-

The board proclaimed the names for the next fight: Temari and Yamanaka Ino.

Ino, feeling confident in herself, swayed her hips as she made her way down the stairs to the arena. She was going to show Sasuke just how amazing she was with this fight.

Temari tsk-ed as she saw what was going to be her competition. Swinging open the piece of metal strapped, she revealed a fan, which she hopped onto and glided into the arena. Jumping to the ground once she was close enough, she snapped the fan shut. "This is going to be easy."

"Oh yeah! Don't underestimate me!" Ino screamed at the sandy haired girl.

Temari laughed and shook her head, "I can't believe I have to waste my time with someone that would rather do their hair then practice their skills. You aren't really a ninja. You are a waste of space."

The platinum blonde had turned red with rage. "How dare you"! Her hands were out in front of her as if exposing claws.

Seeing that the girls were about to go out it, the proctor shouted a quick, "Begin."

Ino lunged at the taller girl wishing to claw her eyes out.

Temari raised an eyebrow and lashed out with her fan knocking the other girl away. "Pathetic."

The purple clad girl was seething, simply because the older girl's words rang true- without her teammates, most of her attacks were useless. "Don't call me that"!

"Don't like the truth? I'm sorry; I'll just end this now." Flicking open her fan part way she smirked, "I don't even need my full fan." She crossed her arms in front of her before flicking them both outwards to her side. With this motion a spike of wind shot at the other girl.

Ino was lifted by the wind and pushed into the wall. She slid down the wall and growled. Glaring at the fan wielding girl she shot up and ran towards her.

Temari lashed her fan in front of her body one way and then the other, sending two waves of wind. The long haired blonde dodged one but caught the other in her chest sending her sprawling. Disappointed with the other girl's weakness, the older blonde walked over to the sprawled out girl.

"Pathetic," she said again before bringing the butt of her fan down on the girl's head, knocking her out.

"Winner Temari," the proctor announced on a bored voice.

A medic come out to look at Ino and discovered that she would be completely fine and handed her off to her Sensei, Asuma.

Sakura frowned at the outcome of the fight. She considered herself an equal to Ino, who was just beaten very badly. She was foolish to ever think she could fight and win. Looking to the ground she was slightly shocked to find a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Nee-Chan, don't look so sad. I know you are great. You'll do fine," a grinning Naruto said. Sakura wished she could believe him. She was knocked from these thoughts when the board sparked to life again.

This time it read: Nara Shikamaru and Tenten.

"What a drag, I have to fight a girl." The protest came from Team Seven's right. Naruto giggled slightly at Shikamaru's response and shot the boy a thumb up of encouragement.

The Nara slowly made his way to the ring to the annoyance of the waiting girl with buns.

"Just because I am a girl doesn't mean that my skills can be taken lightly," Tenten said, irritated at the boys previous comment. She was older and had more experience than the boy walking down the stairs; at least he could have a little respect.

"It's not that I don't trust your skills, I just don't like hurting girls," Shikamaru spoke his longest sentence since he had entered the building.

The brown haired girl seemed even more annoyed at this. "Don't you dare go easy on me"!

The pony-tailed boy finally made it to the arena without saying another word.

The proctor looked impatiently from one to the other, "Alright, begin."

Tenten immediately reached by throwing a fist full of kunai at the boy. Shikamaru moved out of the way of the flying weapons with the smallest amount of effort possible. The brown haired girl reacted by throwing twice the amount of weapons. The Nara dodged again, but one kunai grazed his cheek.

His mind whirled to sort through everything he knew about the girl. She was a weapon specialist. She could fight at any range, but was best at long distance. Her teammates were Neji and Lee, so she didn't have to know Taijutsu, but more than likely knew how to move around it. She had no bloodline or family ability. Something finally clicked in his plan and he shifted the direction his feet were facing ever so slightly.

Tenten was angry; so far he hadn't even moved to attack her. "Fine! If you don't want to fight I'll just end this"! She pulled two scrolls from her waist and through them into the air. They shot towards the sky, spiraling as they did. She crouched down then leaped into the air semi-floating when she reached where the scrolls were fully unraveled. "Twin Dragons of Death!" She raised up both of her arms, but then couldn't bring them down. "What"?

Shikamaru looked up at her from where he was at the ground. "Shadow manipulation jutsu, success." He spun around in circles on the ground. However, in the air where Tenten was spinning, she became tangled in the scrolls. Jumping into the air, the Nara landed on crouched knees. Tenten moved up, and then, came crashing to the ground the scrolls wrapping around her even more.

Shikamaru moved towards the falling girl, who in turn caused Tenten's dropping form to move closer to him. He held out his hands and caught the girl releasing his technique. Setting her on her feet, he helped untangle her from the scrolls. He didn't like hurting girls, let alone a fellow Konoha Ninja.

Tenten was red with embarrassment, but knew when she had been beat. To attack now, when the male had proven he could have seriously injured her, would go against everything she believed in. "I give up."

"Winner, Nara Shikamaru."

"Go Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted from the upper level, giving his friend a huge grin. He had a very high level of respect for the older ninja. Even with this shout, the blonde was still fidgeting over the battles. He hadn't fought yet and the numbers of opponents were decreasing. His nerves were starting to get at him.

The board once again announced its presence and Naruto hoped his name would appear. He was let down when the names Yakushi Kabuto and Inuzuka Kiba appeared.

"Yahooo! I've been itching to fight," Kiba exclaimed as he jumped over the banister with his dog in tow.

Kabuto walked down the stairs making eye contact to a Sensei leaning against the wall before giving a short nod that went unnoticed.

The parka wearing boy grinned when he realized who his opponent was. "I'm up against the seven time loser? Haha, and here I wanted a bit of a challenge."

The white haired boy simply shrugged his shoulders. "I am sorry to bore you Inuzuka." He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to do this- he couldn't show his true skill, and giving up before the fight started might raise suspicion. He didn't really want to be a human punching bag for it to look real. Perhaps he would take a few hits then back down with a slightly more believable story.

"Begin," the Proctor called from where he was standing.

Kabuto took a sloppy stance that could be described as basic academy.

Kiba laughed before jumping into the air and twisting himself into a human bullet that rocketed to the boy.

The older male took the hit and allowed himself to be pushed back. He slapped his hands back against the wall to keep the impact from being painful. That was when a sharp pain went up his shin. He looked down with a hiss and kicked the dog, which he had forgotten about, off of him.

Kiba growled, his eyes becoming darker. "Don't touch my dog"! He lunged forward with a barrage of punches aimed at the taller male.

Kabuto was at first shocked by the attack, so the first few hits made solid contact. Gathering his bearings, he blocked the rest of the attacks and moved out of the way. "I give up! I give up!" he shouted looking at the boy. He shot a quick glance at the shadowy sensei before making his way out of the arena.

The proctor coughed a little shocked that the male had given up so easily. "Winner, Inuzuka Kiba."

"Hell yeah!" Kiba shouted grabbing Akamaru and rushing up the stairs.

Sasuke shook his head watching the white haired teen, something seemed off about that kid. He shook the thought out of his head and looked around at the opponents to go. Only six people were left. He shot a glance at his brother to see how he was fairing.

The blonde was gripping the guard rails and staring intently at the board. He seemed slightly nervous, but mostly excited.

Sakura glanced for one teammate to the other. She flicked her eyes to the board that was moving. There was a small dread inside of her that she would be fighting her younger teammate. The board stilled and she hoped that Kami was on her side.

The bright white letters read the names: Akimichi Choji and Aburame Shino.

-/-

Choji gulped from where he was standing and sent a glance to the ever stoic Shino.

Shino on his part simply descended the stairs leading to the arena for fighting.

Ino who had woken up a few minutes ago slapped Choji on his back. "Come on, go and get him! You can win I know it. Now go fight"!

The larger boy flinched slightly before making his way down the stairs. He looked at the taller boy then down at the ground before looking up again. With determination in his eyes he walked over to his opponent and whispered in his ear.

The Aburame gave a swift nod of agreement and took a few steps back.

The proctor raised an eyebrow at the boys' antics, but said nothing. "Ready, begin"!

Both boys took a step back and fell into a defensive stance with one hand back.

"One," Shino spoke quietly.

"T..two," Choji squeaked out.

"Three," the two boys said together. Moving their hands forward then struck out towards each other- Choji with a fist and Shino with his hand flat in a slashing motion.

The larger boy held his head down, "He won."

The proctor coughed confused by this declaration. "Wh...What"?

"Paper beats rock," Choji explained walking up the stairs, "So, he wins."

The proctor blinked slowly watching the quiet boy follow the larger out of the arena. "Uhm, Winner Aburame Shino."

Sakura's eye twitched at the outcome of the fight. "What was that all about"?

Naruto was grinning ear to ear as he turned to look at his sister figure. "Choji was scared to fight and requested that form of battle from Shino. Shino is a really amazing shinobi, I mean he could have easily beaten Choji in battle, but decided to chance it with a game to help support a fellow Konoha ninja. That is just admirable in every way."

Sakura tilted her head to the side, never thinking of anything along those lines. Sasuke simply scoffed and shook his head. In his mind it was completely stupid to leave something so serious to chance or luck.

Sakura gulped and picked at her finger when she realized there were only four of them left. She really didn't want to fight her younger teammate, and judging from what she had seen and heard the other two were really strong. Her eyes focused on the board intently hoping that it would be for good.

The board stopped with two names and Sakura didn't know if she should be relieved or not. The board read: Haruno Sakura and Gaara.

Naruto shot his attention across the balcony to the redhead that was descending the stairs, it was the same boy that had kidnapped him earlier in the exam. He moved his eyes back to his female teammate feeling a little nervous, but forced a huge smile. "Alright you can do this nee-chan!"

Sakura smiled slightly and nodded her head. She looked to her other teammate to see he was impassive and then her sensei to see him nod at her. She nodded her head to herself and with a new resolve made her way down the stairs to the waiting boy.

The blonde clutched the railing as the proctor announced the start of the fight. Neither person moved at first, then, the pink haired girl threw a kunai at the male. Sand came up to block the attack, shocking the girl.

She took a small step back, before hardening her face and running at the male. She went to punch him, but met sand instead and hurt her hand. Jumping back, the member of team seven wondered how she could win this.

So far, the male hadn't even attacked. Naruto could feel his stomach tighten; he wanted to scream at her to give up and leave the fight, but he didn't want to doubt his sister. He gripped the rail tighter hoping everything would be okay.

Sakura reached into her pouch and shot another kunai at the male. It again was caught by the sand, but this time when it was caught- it exploded.

Being forced back a step, the red head glared at the female. His mother was now screaming at him to finish this pathetic excuse that dared make him move. Lifting up his arm, sand shot out around the female and wrapped around her body in a spiraling motion. It trapped her legs together, her arms tight to her chest, and even wrapped around her mouth.

Sakura's eyes were wide in panic. She couldn't even scream that she wanted to quit, which she desperately wanted to do. The way the sand wrapped around her reminded her of the way Naruto's shadowy thing had wrapped around the sound nin and tore them to pieces. Trying to jerk her body out of the hold, she screamed desperately not wanting to die.

Naruto's mouth was moving before he could even register what he was doing. He had leaned almost completely over the railing and stretched out his arm in a desperate move while screaming, "No! Don't kill her!"

Gaara shot his eyes to the blonde that had caught his interest and tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Please," the younger boy begged with a pleading looking in his eyes.

The red head didn't make a move to respond to the male in the positive or negative. Instead, he focused back on the squirming girl in his grasp. Lifting his hand higher into the air, he watched the girl rise off the ground. The higher he moved his arm, the higher she went. Then in a sudden motion he brought his entire arm down. This caused Sakura to be slammed against the ground in a hard motion.

Before she could get her bearings, she was being lifted in the air again. When she hit the ground the second time, everything went black for her. This however didn't stop the male from lifting her form in the air again.

"No!" Naruto screamed and jumped off the balcony. The fight was over, she was passed out, the fight needed to end, and he couldn't let her die. He grabbed onto the sand that was in between the two and started jabbing at it with a kunai. He was so busy trying to free his sister that he didn't notice Kakashi had been one second ahead of him and was freeing Sakura, or that the proctor had moved to stop Gaara by naming him the winner and ending the fight. He, however, did notice when the sand he was on flung him into a wall.

Standing up and shaking himself off, Naruto glared at the red head that seemed to be glaring back at him. The red head made his way up the stairs, while the blonde took in deep breaths trying to calm himself down. He turned his attention to his sister figure and saw Kakashi handing her over to the medics. The older man turned to his youngest student and motioned that she should be okay.

The blonde gave a small nod before he noticed another male entering the ring. It was the same guy that had punched him for running into him back before the exam started. Glancing at the board he found his name and Kankuro, so that's what the male's name was.

Kankuro simply grinned as he entered the ring. "Haha, I'm fighting against you? A little wimp that can be beaten with one hit. Oh this is going to be great." He then started to laugh. "To think you are even weaker then that little girly teammate of yours that Gaara beat the life out of."

Clenching his fists, Naruto tried to control himself. He sent a quick look to the proctor wanting the fight to start. There was a quick 'start' and Naruto took off. He ran up to the male and kicked the white bundle from his back, wanting to separate him from his weapons.

The older male was in complete surprise. The little punk didn't have that speed or power when he was beating the kid earlier. When he hit the ground he had lost focus on his chakara strings and his puppet fell lifeless.

Surprised, the blonde watched what he thought was Kankuro fall to the ground, as the bundle started moving. Moving to the bundle, he kicked it. There was a grunt, confirming that the real Kankuro was inside.

The black clad boy quickly untangled himself and stood to where he was glaring down at the boy. "Stupid brat, I hope that stupid bitch dies of internal bleeding."

Naruto's eyes flashed red, as he began to growl in a low animalistic manner. Moving faster than he had before, he punched the older male in the gut. The black clad boy flew into the wall before sliding down it.

Jumping onto the older male before he could get his bearings, Naruto started wailing on the others face. Punching with one hand then the other without pause, this caused the boy's face to bounce side to side. He didn't stop when his hands became wet with blood or when the screams turned into gurgles. Inky black eyes glowed in delight at the suffering they caused.

Kankuro's fingers twitched as he attempted to reconnect to his puppet. He could feel that if he didn't do something quick, he would drown in his own blood. Connecting a string, he pulled it to him. This caused the puppet to fly towards the blonde's back.

Too occupied with beating the other's face in, Naruto didn't even sense the attack coming at his back. His first alert was the metal sliding into his back and out the front of his stomach. He paused mid punch, and looked down at the arm sticking out of his stomach.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched his brother be impaled. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, that he didn't know what to do or if there was anything that he could do. He could feel the panic coming off of his sensei from right beside him, but neither of them moved.

The blonde screamed, but it didn't seem to be in pain, it was an angered sound. Black shot out from around his body, sending the puppet across the stadium, into the wall, and into pieces. Red then shot out from his midsection before the black consumed it. Then, the boy seemed completely untouched, like there was no wound to begin with.

Kankuro had lost his fight against breathing through his blood and was unconscious. The proctor quickly called the end of the fight and pulled the blonde off the boy. Medics were there immediately to open up the older boy's windpipe and attempt to reconstruct his face.

Naruto took a few steps back, barely registering that he had won. He was in shock of what he had done, and everything was getting extremely fuzzy.

The blackness had been in such a rush to heal it's host, that is had sealed the poison inside the boy. The fox's chakara swirled around trying to heal the poison from her kit's system. However, every time her power clashed against the darkness it would cause further injury to the boy. Part of the fox was pissed that the boy had been angry enough to let down all of his guards and let the darkness get a grasp on him. The other part of was afraid, afraid they truly were killing him from the inside out.

Naruto staggered, it felt as if his body was revolting against himself. He attempted to make it to the stairs, but as soon as he touched the railing, his body fell back wards. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head before he even touched the ground.

-/-

Naruto screamed in agony. It felt as though his body was being torn in two.

"I have to heal him!" He heard a scream from his right.

"You'll just steal him away again!" Was a hiss from his left.

Trying to force the pain down enough he looked to see the giant red fox on his right and the darkness to his left. He had somehow moved out of the cage of protection. He looked down to see a mixture of red and black wrapped around his body, both trying to pull him in a different direction. He let out another agonized scream at a painful tug.

"See you stupid fox, you are killing him. Just let me have him and this will all stop."

Kyuubi growled, "I'm not killing him, you are! Let go of him now before I eat you whole!"

Laughing filled the room. "If you could eat me, you would have done it already!"

Naruto couldn't even form words as pain wracked through his body and tears made their way down his face. He really didn't think he would die like this.

-/-

Sasuke watched his brother's body fall, before the blonde started convulsing. "No!" He ran down the stairs and came to his brother's side; to find the Kakashi had materialized on the blonde's other side.

The silver haired male looked over his student, trying to find the cause of the convulsions. He spotted the curse mark and his eyes widened, "Oh no…" Picking up the blonde he took off running. He had no idea how the curse seal would react with the Kyuubi seal, but based on the boy's reaction it was not good.

He went into an unused medic room and bound the boy to a bed after removing his shirt. At the moment, he didn't care that Sasuke had followed him. Whirling on Sasuke, he ordered the boy to go and get ink.

Searching through his scrolls, he found the one that contained the scroll his sensei left him. Unsealing it, he searched through it before finding the seal needed to bind the curse seal. Pulling out a vial of ink he started drawing the seal on the boy's body. He hoped that the older boy would return soon with the rest of the ink needed to complete the seal.

His youngest student appeared to be in excruciating pain and would not stop convulsing. Sasuke ran in carrying a few bottles of ink. Taking them quickly, he finished drawing the seals, which covered the boy's body, the bed he laid on, and the floor. Standing back, he motioned Sasuke to do the same, before he went through several hand motions and slammed his hands against the ground.

-/-

Naruto had lost his voice from screaming so hard and wished that unconsciousness would take him, but part of him knew that he was unconscious already.

The darkness started to loosen its grip, before letting go completely to attempt to fight off the glowing words that were circling it.

The blonde watched in slight awe as the words wrapped around the creature, before they solidified into a cage. The darkness lashed out against the cage, but could not free itself.

Startled, Naruto looked around when he was picked up. Then he saw it was the fox pulling him into its warm body. He allowed his eyes to slide shut, when an overwhelming sense of comfort replaced the sensation of pain.

-/-

Sasuke paced in front of the bed, wondering why his brother had not woken since the seal was done. His body had stopped convulsing and seemed to be calm now, but he would not wake.

"Sasuke, his body went under a lot of stress. He needs to rest, just be patient," Kakashi's calm voice attempted to comfort the boy.

Sasuke huffed and sat on the bed his brother was asleep on.

"There you go, now tell me what happened in the forest and how Naruto received that," he motioned to the curse seal when he spoke.

Sasuke nodded and began to explain how they encountered a really powerful enemy, the fight they had, how Naruto had been sick and convulsing, about the fight Naruto had with the sound nins. He only spoke what he felt was absolutely necessary, so he left out all the conversations and how Naruto had been kidnapped for a short period of time.

Kakashi started to put all the pieces together, but still felt something was missing. Glancing over at his blonde haired student, he hoped that what he was missing wouldn't cause problems.

-/-

A/N: Alright, finally, I know I know, finally an update. I am very sorry that it took so long to get here. I allowed myself to at first get discouraged by what a few people said and then distracted by college. So life got in the way, but I finally have it. I was actually pushed to finish this chapter after a very polite review rnc4- thank you for helping snap me back to focus and working on the story.

I hope you enjoyed the story. Like always, tell me what you think. As a side note, if you are critiquing my work please attempt to do so in a calm polite manner without being violent or cussing at me. Thank you and review please! Again I gravely apologize for it taking so long. I have no idea when the next update will be and what happens next in the story is still fuzzy and I have other stories (specially the one I am almost done with, which I am going to send to a publisher) that are also taking space in my mind. Tata till next time.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

By Boejangles

-/-

"Report," was the short yet firm demand directed at the gray haired male standing in the office.

Kakashi took in a breath and directed his eyes to the Hokage. "Sir, Uchiha Naruto received the curse seal during the second part of the Chunnin exams. During the preliminary fights, he went into convulsions. According to Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, he had had the same type of fits during the second test. I realized that the curse seal was corrupting his chakara and making it toxic. I proceeded to form a seal around the curse seal to neutralize it. The last I saw, he was still in a deep sleep."

The aged Hokage took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Stepping his fingers in front of his face, he frowned at the desk. "The curse seal is Orochimaru's doing, there was other proof that he had infiltrated the village. I just can't put my finger on what he would want with Naruto."

Not having any idea on the matter either, the younger male remained silent.

"Thank you Kakashi. Now, I have something I would like you to do."

* * *

Staring down at the slumbering blond, pale hands gripped the bed railing. "Come on, wake up already." The upset boy paused when the small form in the sheets groaned and began to stir.

Bright blue eyes slowly opened to white light. Groaning in an attempt to push the light away, Naruto moved his arm to cover his face.

"You're up, I was so worried. Do you hurt?" came from the almost frantic voice of the dark haired male in the room.

The blond moved his arm to look at the other male in the room. "Sasuke? How long was I out"?

The older male came to sit on the bed. "A few hours. Are you hurting?" he repeated his previous question.

Shaking his head, Naruto moved to sit up. "Where is Sakura, is she okay?"

"What does that matter, you almost died," Sasuke spat out as if it was the most stupid thing to ask such a thing.

Sending a quick glare at his brother, Naruto moved to leave the bed. "She is my sister and she matters to me." The words seemed to condemn the older male for thinking otherwise.

The dark haired boy's eyes flashed as he snapped his arm out and grabbed the blond. "Sit back down."

Ripping his arm out of the grip, the blond growled. "Stop trying to control me. I am going to go see my sister. If you have a problem with that just try and stop me." After speaking the words, Naruto left the room along with a speechless male.

* * *

Blue eyes peeked into a pasty white room that contained a strawberry haired female. Slowly inching into the room, he attempted to determine how she was doing. A plastic mask rested on her face and was connected to a green container on the wall. Part of her face was wrapped up in gauze along with her arms. The rest of her body could not be seen.

Once at the side of the bed, he was able to look directly down at the girl. She looked almost peaceful, as if she had simply fallen asleep and not bashed into a state of unconsciousness; though, the black eyes and swollen busted lip distorted that image.

"Hey Nee-chan," the boy's voice squeaked out in almost a whimper. "I…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry that I didn't protect you." His frame shuddered and then slumped over the side of the bed, onto the girl and began shaking. Tears fell down the young boys face as he kept insisting that he was sorry and that he would make it up to the girl.

-/-

A small pale form slid into the room containing one Neji Hyuuga. The male's eyes darted towards the door and glared at the person that walked in. He had a bandaging coming up over his shoulder and securing a bandage to his chest where the kunai had slid in. The medics had managed to suction the blood out of his lung and seal him back up, however it was still painful to breathe.

"What do you want?" the male spat out with enough venom to kill a horse.

The person gracefully made their way to the visitors chair before taking a seat. "Well, during my near death experience I had some time to reflect and reevaluate certain emotions. When I really boil it down, you were never the target of my aggression. If I am completely truthful, I'm jealous that your father died instead of mine."

"Don't you dare say that!" the male growled out as if the matter of fact words spoken before had burned. "I'd give anything to have my dad back for just one more day."

The visitor developed a faraway look. "That's how it should have been; my father dead and with him the constant abuse. With his death the linage of the main house would have fallen on your father's shoulders and then you would have been the heir and I the humble servant. That's really the roles we were destined to play."

"Hinata," Neji attempted to put his thoughts into words, but was having trouble comprehending what the girl had just confessed. It was hard for him to take, because he had hated the girl, because things hadn't happened that way.

"The only way I was able to attack was to make a sacrificial move and imagine your face was that of my father- I'm not fit to lead a clan. However," The pearly white eyes focused on the older male, "you have surpassed where both of our fathers were at when they were your age. You are the rightful heir, yet I have absolutely no power to change our places; trust me, if there was any conceivable way I would take it."

The brown haired boy stared at the girl. There was a small part of him that wanted to hold onto the hate and anger, but the small frame in front of him was that of a lost little girl that was hurting just as much as him. Reaching out his hand he grasped Hinata's smaller hand awkwardly.

White eyes startled open and stared at the hand grasping hers. It was the first touch of comfort she received since her mother died and her sister stopped looking up to her. It was almost unnatural to her now. The feeling caused an emotion chain reaction inside the girl and she began to cry silently as she lost the fight against keeping her brave face.

Looking at the vulnerable form in front of him, Neji hated himself for ever hurting her. He had done the same thing as his cousin; his true object of loathing was his uncle, but he couldn't harm his uncle, so his rage was taken out on the smaller, weaker girl. All along they had shared the same enemy, but instead of uniting together, they slowly worked at killing each other. It was in that moment that the boy's mind was made up- he would never let the small girl before him ever be hurt again.

Wincing against the pain, Neji moved to pull Hinata into his hold. The girl became stock still as if waiting for some sort of underhanded attack. However, what she received was warm breath against her ear whispering, "I'll never let him hurt you again." The girl's eyes widened in shock closed tight as all of her emotions rushed out of her and silent tears became full body sobbing.

* * *

A tall male in a white coat walked in on a blond playing with a strand of pink hair and telling some story about obstacles and how they can be overcome. He raised his eyebrow in amusement and then coughed to get his attention. "Sir, I'm sorry, but you are going to have to leave. The little lady there needs to head back to surgery."

Naruto, who was at first startled by the doctor's sudden appearance, nearly became frantic at the males words. "She needs surgery? For what? What's wrong?" the words came out rushed and almost melded together.

The doctor ran a hand through brown locks and offered the blond a smile. "Well she suffered some pretty nasty breaks, we need to go in there and pin them in place so that they can heal properly. Also, her ribs crunched inwards so we need to go in and make sure all of her organs are doing alright. It is really nothing major, just some stuff to make her feel better." The male attempted to placate the boy with his words.

Blue eyes looked down at his older sister. Even though the doctor attempted to make it sound simple, he was worried. Surgery was for seriously injured people and he did not want to think that his sister was hurt that bad. Reaching down, he grasped the girl's hand. "You get better Sakura, we still have so much we need to do together." He gave a slight squeeze to the hand before letting go. He began to walk out of the room, but stopped in front of the doctor. "Take care of her, she is precious to me."

* * *

A blond haired boy slid through the front door of his house completely exhausted from what seemed like a month of events and to think in a month the actual fights were going to commence. As a matter of fact, because of the way things played out, he had no idea who he was going to be fighting. He would need to find Kakashi tomorrow and find out. He wasn't quite sure who he would prefer to fight if he were able to choose. He grew up with everyone except for the two nin from sand, oh yeah he would love to get his hands on that red head for what he did to Sakura, but he had this slight sinking feeling in his stomach when he thought of fighting.

Naruto was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a bang upstairs. Rushing up the stairs he caught the source of the noise. Sasuke was witting on the bed and a suit case was on the ground from where it had either fallen or was thrown.

"Hello Aniki, I didn't know you were home."

Dark eyes flashed up with a glare. "Oh, I'm Aniki now? I thought Sakura was your sister and I didn't matter."

"I never said you didn't matter," the blond protested.

"Shut up, it doesn't matter. I am leaving with Kakashi," Sasuke spat out before turning away from the younger boy.

Shrinking back, the smaller boy bit his lip. "I'm sorry Aniki. Why are you leaving"?

The raven haired boy crossed his arms and looked as if he was debating whether or not he was going to answer. "We were paired to fight in the tournament, so we can train together. Kakashi is taking me to a special training ground. You get to stay here and train yourself." Sasuke smirked and looked at the younger boy. "And while you are doing that maybe you should work on respect. Because, if I come home and you still have this attitude- I will beat it out of you."

Blue eyes stared into the evil glint of his brother's. His body trembled slightly as he took a step back. He was going to get it because of their interactions in the hospital and he didn't even know where that side of him had come from. A part of him feared that no matter what he did, when Sasuke came back home he was going to become a punching bag.

Naruto was frozen in place and mentally screaming, that he didn't notice that Sasuke had moved until he was sprawled out on the ground staring up at the ceiling. He could faintly taste blood; yup the inside of his lip was definitely cut open.

"That was for the back talk earlier. If you don't shape up, you are going to be wishing that I only slap you around like this." Dark eyes looked over the stunned smaller boy before huffing in annoyance and walking out of the room.

The blond laid on the floor and stared up and the ceiling until he heard the front door slam shut. He honestly didn't know how to fix his attitude, because he had no idea where it had come from. Yet, in his mind that wasn't the worst of his problems, apparently he was going to be fighting his brother in the finals. On top of that his sensei was going to be training said brother. Somehow, it felt as if the fates were against him. His mind kept flashing back to what Sasuke had said during the preliminary round when the Hyuugas were fighting and then over all the times Sasuke had crushed him with a single blow.

Naruto lay on the floor staring off into nothing, being haunted by his memories for a long time. The sun had set for a long while before blue eyes finally drifted to a restless sleep.

* * *

_Sasuke stood there trembling covered in blood. He turned and looked at the older teen. "You! You did this!" _

_The older one stood unmoving staring back at the younger one without saying a word._

_Naruto took a few steps forward, "Aniki stop, please just stop!" He ran and grabbed a hold of Itachi's legs. "Help, stop Aniki." He was almost pleading._

_Itachi looked down at his adopted brother and then over at Sasuke, "I'm leaving."_

_"No! Don't go. Don't leave me." Naruto grabbed harder onto Itachi's legs._

_"You! You were working with him weren't you!" Sasuke screamed grabbing the blond hair and yanking back._

_Naruto fell forward catching himself with his hands. His five year old frame shook, "No, no Aniki. Please just stop."_

_Sasuke kicked the smaller boy in the gut, "Shut up! Shut up you don't know anything! He killed our parents and you go to him for help! Traitor!" He kicked him again._

_Naruto clutched his stomach, "No. No Aniki. Just stop. Don't hurt anyone else, please stop hurting people."_

_The dark-haired boy yanked the smaller one up and shoved him against the wall. "I haven't hurt anyone! It was Itachi that did it!" He moved to motion to his older brother only to notice that he wasn't there anymore. "Look at that! You let him get away! You let our parents' murderer get away!" He slapped the blond hard enough to knock him to the ground._

_"No! No! You did it." Naruto started crawling away before stumbling to his feet and running as fast as he could, "Don't kill me!"_

_Naruto fell backwards after running into someone. He quickly shielded his face, "Please don't kill me!"_

"I don't want to die!" a young boy screamed shooting into a sitting position. Taking in deep rapid breaths, Naruto slowly realized that he had been having a nightmare and he wasn't actually back there. It had been a while since he had that specific nightmare, that it really hit him hard.

He needed to get out of the house and into some form of fresh air of he felt like he would explode from all the pent up emotions.

The sunlight on his face seemed to be a miracle cure in its self. Slowly all the traces of the past began to fade from the forefront of his mind. A nice bowl of ramen and an hour or so on the swing would be like nothing had happened the day before.

He had almost made it to the ramen stand when a voice made him pause mid-step. "Uchiha Naruto"! The blond turned to the source of the voice. Tilting his head he attempted to remember where he had met the male that was in front of him before. He could very vaguely remember a male in green spandex, but couldn't put his finger on it.

"It is time for our duel!" the male with an unattractive bowl cut declared. Now Naruto remembered, this was the fool that wanted to fight Sasuke so he had to step in. Yet, Naruto couldn't get himself excited over the idea of the fight.

The smaller male moved to scratch the back of his head. "Is there anyway we can do this like tomorrow? I'm not really in a fighting mood."

Naruto watched as the male's face seemed to fall in disappointment. "I was going to go check on my teammate, but we can fight tomorrow."

"You mean the beautiful Sakura?" the male's entire body seemed to perk up with his question. "How is she doing, are her injuries recovering well"?

"That's why I need to go see her; I'm not sure how she is doing. However, my nee-chan is strong I know she is going to be alright," the blond declared with a wide grin.

Lee gave a sharp nod. "That is an honorable reason to postpone our fight. You go check on the fair lady and I shall return tomorrow to see which of us is stronger."

Blue eyes watched the strange male turn and walk away. He really was quite a strange one. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he made his way to the hospital completely forgetting about ramen or the swing. He spent the rest of the day sitting next to an unconscious girl with strawberry hair and sharing animated stories of the past and future.

The doctors had said that she was in a drug induced coma to allow her body and mind to heal. She had suffered internal trauma along with her many fractured bones and swelling of the brain. However, the doctors were hopeful of a complete recovering. They said that keeping her asleep was a precaution, because too much stimulant could cause a backslid. So, Naruto was content to pray from the deepest fibers of his being and talk to her. Somehow, he believed that even though she was asleep, she would appreciate the company.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, and that is the chapter! For some reason I can't even find it in me to apologize for it being so long before being updated. Full time College…21 credit hours of college, a part time job, and clinical hours…yeah I feel accomplished just getting anything written. However, -crosses fingers- I hope to finish this story with winter break coming. I don't have any vacations or anything planned but that could change, but this is the hope. So…like always comment away and tell me what you think.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

By Boejangles

-/-

A sunny haired boy wandered about in a small garden. He was searching for something in particular, something that was very special to him. Something that liked to eat anything that dared grow in said garden.

"Oh Haku, come out come out where ever you are," a sing song voice called. Blue eyes darted around upon hearing a rustling. With a sudden show of speed, tan hands grabbed hold of a pure white rabbit. "Why where have you been hiding Mister Haku?" the happy boy asked pulling the bunny to his chest.

Naruto had treasured the white rabbit ever since receiving it during the mission in wave. It reminded him of the boy he had met that seemed to know him so well. The blond didn't want to take any chances though, so he kept the bunny here, in the garden, and never brought him inside. Naruto only ever played with the bunny when he knew Sasuke wasn't around- he wasn't sure if he could stand watching anyone else he cared about die.

Holding up a carrot, the boy giggled as the bunny munched on it. He wondered about the original Haku and how he was fairing with his precious person. The blond could only hope the older male was doing better than he was.

"Alright Mister Haku, you take care. Be sure to tend the garden as usual." Naruto grinned from the bottom of his heart before releasing the bunny back into the vast jungle of their back yard garden.

The young Uchiha left the garden with the plans of stopping by and saying hi to Sakura, probably picking her up some flowers, and then finding someone to help him train for the upcoming exam. He had just about made it when he had just about made it to the flower shop when his plans were suddenly interrupted.

"Aha! My youthful rival! Are you prepared for our duel today?" a cheery voice half asked and half proclaimed.

Naruto slowly turned to look at the green blur that was rushing towards him. He wondered if he could think up an excuse to push off the duel yet again, but deep down knew he had made a promise and needed to stick to it. "I guess today is the day to finally have out match."

Bouncing up and down in excitement, Lee seemed like he was about to explode. "Yosh! I have been waiting for this for an awfully long time"!

The blond simply offered a half hearted grin not quite sure why the other male was so excited. However, Naruto did not have time to figure this out, because he was soon being pulled by the green clad boy towards a training area where he assumed the duel would take place.

Letting go of the younger boy's arm, Lee moved to stand across from the blond and bowed in a show of respect before a battle was to commence.

Blue eyes watched the other male carefully. "I have questions before we begin." Naruto paused, waiting 'til he had eye contact before continuing. "Why do you want to fight and Uchiha so badly"?

Lee's face became hard before he answered. "I want to prove that perseverance and hard work can beat a bloodline or a clan any day."

A strange look crossed the blonde's face before he looked down. "So you think that just because someone is part of a clan that don't have to work hard? You think that alone keeps a person from persevering every day just to stay alive?" Naruto's voice started out quiet but escalated into a scream. "Well then why don't I show you what my not hard work can do"! He decided to leave out that he actually didn't posses the sharingan or any other bloodline for that matter.

The green clad boy was stunned by the younger one's declaration and even more stunned when he had to dodge a fist that was aimed at his face. The older boy responded by lashing out with his foot and making contact with the blonde's head. He was rewarded with fire singing his leg and being blasted back about ten feet.

He wasn't quite sure what happened, he kicked the smaller boy who then seemed to explode. It must have been some kind jutsu. Lee quickly wiped at his leg wanting to make sure it wasn't damaged badly.

"Ready to give up?" Naruto asked from his leaning position against a tree. A smirk that was oddly familiar to that of his older brother's adorned his face.

"I must admit your youth is strong, but I shall not give up so easily," the dark haired male declared before running and landing a spinning kick to the males head. Once again, the contact was met with an explosion. Lee fought against the momentum and flipped in the air to land on his feet this time. The Taijutsu specialist attempted to puzzle it out; just how was he supposed to defeat somebody that erupted each time he made contact.

Sitting in the middle of the clearing with his eyes closed, Naruto made a clucking sound with his tongue. "Ready to give up now"?

"I am Rock Lee and I will continue to fight!" with that declaration Lee ran towards the male sending and upper axe cut directed at the other's chin with the intention of throwing him into the air. Instead of flying in the air, the blond simply exploded this time with enough force to send the older male flying through the air. Sliding across the ground was none to friendly to hid back, and when he stopped, the pain in his leg was near unbearable.

Walking up to the fallen male, Naruto stared down. "This match is over. It is not because I was part of a clan that I beat you, in fact, I have no blood line and my clan has been dead for many years. I beat you because I push myself everyday and work as hard as I can to get better. So don't assume that just because of someone's name that they aren't trying just as hard as you to be their best"! After the blond spoke his mind he offered a hand to help the older male up.

Once on his feet, though favoring his left leg, Lee bowed to the blond in shame. "I am sorry Naruto for my assumption. I have lost fair and square and for my weakness I shall do one hundred sit-up followed by one hundred push up followed by…"

"Well good luck with that," Naruto offered to the still babbling male along with a grin before he made his escape from somehow being tricked into what was sounding like a work out of doom.

* * *

After his fight with Lee, Naruto made his way to the top of the Hokage monument to think. The young male wasn't sure what he should do. Part of him knew that he needed to let Sasuke win their match, but the other part couldn't forget what his brother had said during the preliminary round. Yet he couldn't conceive actually hurting his older brother. It just wasn't right. Let alone it was a death wish in disguise…but Sasuke also made it seem like not giving it his all would be a death wish as well.

The blond sighed and shoved his head between his knees. He just didn't know what he was going to do. He really wished he had just been paired up against that blood thirsty red-head; that would be someone he would have no problem fighting all out.

Naruto suddenly thought about Sakura and hoped that she was recovering well. He would need to go see her tonight. He had been so distracted by his fight earlier that he forgot to stop by. Standing up, the blond decided that he would spend most of his time doting on Sakura and enjoying his freedom from his brother instead of training. He would simply use what he already knew against his brother and nothing more. No matter what happened he had concluded that in the long run he would lose.

* * *

Sasuke grunted from where he was leaning against a boulder. "None of this will help me beat him."

Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi looked up from his book. "You think that Naruto is going to be a difficult fight"? The intrigued the silver haired male who had believed the Uchiha in front of him to have thought so highly of himself.

"Not him!" Sasuke spat out as if the idea was ridiculous. "Gaara. I know that no matter how much I wish it, Naruto will not actually fight me and no matter how smart Shikamaru is he will not be able to defeat Gaara; so that has me up against that crazy sand-nin in the second round and these techniques will not be enough."

Kakashi scrutinized his student from over the edge of his book before pretending to go back to reading. The raven haired male had a point. He knew the blonde's heart and had already surmised that the kid would give up for his brother. That left the very wide possibility that Sasuke would be fighting the same red head that placed his female student in intensive care.

However, the silver haired male was still torn. His mind kept lingering on his discussion with the aged Hokage who asked for this training trip in the first place. When he had asked why he was given the cloaked response that it would be good for the boys to train separately if they are to fight each other. Even when he pushed in on whether or not there was any advancement in the inquiry between the boys' he was brushed off and told not to worry. He wondered if not worrying meant that there wasn't anything going on and it had all been just a big scare.

Darting his eyes back over to look at his annoyed student, Kakashi wondered what he should do. He was sure the Hokage would have told him if something was wrong between the boys.

"Alright Sasuke, I will show you a new technique, but you are only to use it if your or one of your teammate's lives are in danger."

The raven haired male gave a quick nod of understanding before paying complete attention to the explanation his sensei was giving on the technique.

* * *

The next couple of weeks passed without incident and Naruto was actually beginning to miss his brother. His bowl of ramen did help suppress those feelings though.

"Yo Naruto!" a voice called out to the boy sitting on a swing.

Swiveling his head around to see who had called out to him, the blond grinned. "Boss"!

Konohamaru smiled as he walked up to the boy flanked by Udon and Moegi. "You want to come play ninja with us"? The question was met with an enthusiastic nod and the slurping down of that last bit of broth from a ramen bowl.

Naruto was truly excited. He was given the opportunity to play with his friends again. He absolutely loved being able to play with the kids before him, it helped him to forget that he was forced to grow up so fast and remember what it was like to be a kid.

Pumping his fist in the air, the young brunette let out a 'yippee' before ordering the other to follow him to the location of their secret mission. Their mission had been one of outstanding bravery that called for them to slay a dragon and save a distressed princess. As expected, the young blond had the time of his life.

They had begun to watch the sun set after a long day of playing when their captain jumped up suddenly. "Now we must go to unc's house in celebration of mission success!" Konohamaru declared. This was met with the nods of approval from his three underlings.

Asuma crossed his arms and waited when he opened his front door to a square rock. His sister had warned him that his nephew would more than likely be stopping by.

The box suddenly exploded in a puff of smoke.

"The one who possess the sex appeal of an adult, Moegi!" the ginger haired girl offered while holding up a piece sign.

The glasses wearing meal jumped out next holding a calculator. "The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon"!

"The one who can always make a bang, Naruto!" the blond spoke while jumping up and using a modified body flicker so instead of disappearing the fire just rose up his body and then dissipated.

The scarf clad male jumped in front of the other three. "The village's number one greatest ninja, Konohamaru"!

"The four of us make…the Konohamaru corps!" they all spoke in unison.

"Well how nice of you to stop by," Asuma offered sarcastically. "Alright, alright come on in and eat before the food gets cold.

The four kids entered the house while Konohamaru commented that he liked the introduction for Naruto much better than the old one and was glad that they had worked on it.

* * *

"So, I've been thinking Naruto, and I think I want you to be my right hand man and second in command. If anything ever happened I would want you to look after the rest of the corps," the brunette's voice came out matter of fact.

The blond beamed, but then took on a sad look. "I'd be honored boss, but nothing is going to happen to you I am sure of it"!

"Of course nothing is going to happened to me, silly," Konohamaru snapped back. "I'm just saying you know, if."

The young Uchiha nodded and smiled. He was glad that his friend had decided to walk with him even after Moegi and Udon had to go home. He truly liked the slightly younger boy and was overjoyed to be able to share his company, especially since he didn't get to enjoy it often.

"You know, Boss, I think you are my best friend."

"I think you are my best friend too, Naruto."

"Aww, how touching," interrupting the boys' happy moment. The voice that had spoken was cold and calculating, but the wielder was hidden in the shadow ahead. "Now, now, now, what have we here- two very stupid boys out way past their bed times."

Recognizing the voice, the blond took a fearful step back.

"Hey you meany head who are you calling stupid!" Konohamaru demanded of the unknown voice.

"Boss!" Naruto bite out, "Don't!"

There was a sharp laugh before the figure stepped forward. "I do believe I was calling you and my little brother stupid you snot nosed brat. I mean, imagine my surprise coming home from a long training trip to find my helpless little brother missing. Imagine how worried I was that something had happened only to find him out wondering with a bad influence."

The brunette obviously didn't realize that he was baiting a snake as he shoved his hands into his hips. "I am not a bad influence nor am I or my friend stupid and I am most definitely not a snot nosed brat you evil buttmunch"!

A look a horror crossed the youngest Uchiha's face before he jumped in front of his boss to take a hit that was aimed at the younger boy. The force of the punch sent the blond sprawled onto the ground.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru screamed ready the fight the older boy that dare hit his friend.

"Boss, don't, just go home, please," the slightly older boy begged.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest satisfied that he had hit someone even if it wasn't his intended target. "Yes, go home and don't ever come around Naruto again. I forbid you from being friends. This is the second time that you have caused him to miss curfew and I have no idea what else you have been teaching him- so I don't ever want to see you around my brother again, is that understood"?

"He is my friend!" The brunette barked, "and you can't forbid me from doing anything"!

The blond had finally pushed himself into a sitting position. "Aniki, no!" he shouted when his brother began to move again. "Boss, just turn around and go home, I'm begging you, just go home."

Konohamaru stared at Naruto for a couple of second before taking a step back, turning and running away as fast as he could.

"For such a stupid kid, that was pretty smart of him," Sasuke commented before grabbing his younger brother's wrist and yanking him to his feet. "However, I am just getting started with you."

Blond hair obstructed the view of blue eyes since the male's head was hanging down so low, as he was dragged behind his brother. His entire frame was trembling in fear and anticipation. A small part of him wondered if he should attempt screaming for help as loud as he could, considering they weren't yet to their home, someone might hear him. He knew though, that he would never be able to do that. He loved his brother and knew that he was the only one that could help him. Naruto was so caught in his thoughts that it took the slamming of a door for him to realize that they had made it home.

"I warned you that you needed to make an attitude adjustment, but instead of doing that, you break curfew while at the same time directly disobeying me by fraternizing with the boy I told you not to be around. And don't you dare say you are sorry or I swear," he allowed the threat to linger in the air. So, instead of saying anything the younger boy simply swallowed and attempted to stop quaking in fear. "Good, if you keep behaving this won't be as bad."

* * *

Konohamaru busted through the front door panting for breath, nearly scaring his mother into dropping her water glass to the floor.

"Baby, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" The tender woman questioned while lowering herself to her son's level.

"Naruto…" he had to pause to take in a deep breath. "Naruto's brother hit him and I think he is in danger!" the small boy was frantically yelling.

"Honey, calm down and tell me exactly what happened." The woman's eyes held concern. She had met her son's friend on a couple of occasions and couldn't imagine a reason someone would hit the boy.

"I was walking Naruto home, when suddenly this guy shows up and starts yelling at us. I yelled back and then Naruto was in front of me and then the guy knocked him to the ground and told me I could never see Naruto again and that I needed to go home. The guy was really, really mean and I think he is going to hurt Naruto"!

"Konohamaru, this isn't another one of your stories is it? This isn't the appropriate thing to make a game out of, you know that right"?

"Yes! I know! I am telling the truth!" The boy's voice was agitated at having to work so hard to be believed.

"I'm serious," the woman warned, "this is no laughing matter, what you are saying is a very serious accusation. So if this is one of your make believe things, I need you to tell me now."

The brunette looked exacerbated. "Mooom, it isn't I promise. I know I make up a lot of things, but I really think Naruto needs our help"!

The woman took a moment to look into the boy's eyes before nodding. "Alright, we will go check on your friend and make sure he is okay." With that she put on her shoes and allowed her son to lead the way to Naruto's house.

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun….**

So ,what do you think? Likes, dislikes, questions, complaints, comments, critique, requests, undying affection- yeah I'd like any and all of it.

So how many people did I shock by updating so fast? I told you I was hoping to finish this story over winter break (and when I say that I mean the whole story, don't worry I'm not planning on shortening it just to finish it faster), though the lack of comments on the last chapter had me kinda bummed, I guess that is what I get for the long delay between chapters. How many of you had forgotten about the bunny Haku? Don't worry I had too until I was looking through my stuff, so I had to add him in this chapter.

So yeah, comments are loved and feed my drive to update.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

By Boejangles

-/-

Naruto attempted to put on a brave face, however that all vanished when he realized where his brother was leading him. In an act of self preservation, he dropped his body to the ground and started flailing around. "No, no, no, no, please, please, not that"!

Growling when his arm was suddenly jerked downwards, Sasuke attempted to force the smaller boy to his feet. However, with the blond squirming around as he was, the task was difficult. In front of the boy was an ordinary looking brown down, which seemed no more ominous than any other door in the house. "I told you if you keep behaving it won't be so bad, are you planning on disobeying me now"?

Moving to his hands and knees, the blond begged, "Please, please, not that. I'll play hide and seek or the running game or anything else, but please not this." Naruto had never been sick in his life, never so much as a cold. Yet, the academy had ten separate accounts on the record of the young blond missing up to a week of school from being out sick; almost all having taken place in the first few years the kid attended the school.

"No," the answer was solid and absolute. "We are not here to play a game. We are here, because you have become increasingly disobedient and need to relearn just who is in charge here. I fear that any other method would be ineffective." The dark haired boy explained as he reached down and grabbed both of the boy's arms and began to drag him the rest of the way to the door.

Kicking his feet wildly, the youngest Uchiha attempted to dig the toes of his shoes into the ground to prevent his body from being moved. It seemed that the older boy's upper body strength over powered the other's lower body strength and the boy continued to be dragged.

Releasing one wrist of the struggling boy, Sasuke opened the door that seemed to shoot fear through his younger brother. The opening revealed only darkness until a hand flicked directly inside the doorway to operate a light switch and revealed a long stairway.

"I suggest you stand up and walk or I will throw you down the stairs," the threat was accompanied with a painful squeeze to the wrist that was still in custody.

Naruto stood up shakily as if to obediently follow his brother down the stairs. However, after taking the first step the blond used his free arm to grab onto the doorway as well as bring the leg on the same side his body tightly against the wall, so that Sasuke could only pull half of the boy.

Jerking the arm that was still in his grip quite painfully, the older Uchiha glared hard. "You are not making this any easier on yourself little brother." Walking back up the few steps that he had managed to get down, the dark haired boy gripped the other's upper arm and squeezed tightly while slowly pulling the arm from its death grip on the post.

The blonde was fighting so hard not to move that he nearly took the paint off of the wall with his fingernails. Tears made their way down his face as he turned to look at his brother. "Please, Aniki, please, if any part of you still loves me, don't do this."

Sasuke took in a breath and shook his head before he finally managed to dislodge the disobedient arm and grab the wrist in a tight hold so that he now had both arms prisoner. "You don't understand little one, I'm doing this because I love you."

Naruto moved so that both feet were in front of him and he was pulling his wait against his brother in an attempt to not be dragged any further down the stairs. His movements only caused him to stumble each time he was pulled off of a step. In a final attempt to escape his fate, the blond allowed his entire body to become dead wait.

The older boy huffed as his arms were suddenly jerked down again. "You are much too old to be throwing these kinds of temper tantrums," Sasuke vented as he managed to pull the boy down the final steps and into the small dark room. The room was simple and bare seeing as its intending use was just to house a furnace, water heater, and circuit breaker. However, this room housed more than that, for instance, a glittering chain that hung down from the ceiling and broke into two cuffs.

The blond stared completely unmoving at the hanging metal. Then, his entire body began to tremble and he attempted to dart back up the stairs. The grip on his wrists prevented him from escape and pulled him closer to the last place on earth he wanted to be.

Releasing one arm to slide the first wrist into the hanging cuff, the dark haired boy was prepared for the strike that hit his stomach. Instead of reacting, he simply secured the lock. The boy would receive all the punishment he deserved shortly. Sasuke grabbed the swinging fist with both hands and brought it up alongside the first one and repeated the same process of locking it in place. Once he had assured they were both secure, he took a step away from the swinging feet.

"Well it seems you have grown since we were last down here, little brother." Surprisingly the voice wasn't mocking, it was simply pointing out a fact. Moving around the still thrashing boy, the older Uchiha grabbed hold of a chain that was latched to a hook. He unlatched it and slowly pulled on the chain, which worked through a hook on the ceiling and pulled the blond up higher. Pulling until the blond was perched on his tippy toes; the taller boy reattached the chain in place.

"There so much better, now you won't have that silly impulse to kick," Sasuke slightly admonished while he crossed his arms to look at the crying boy. "We haven't even started yet and you are already crying; that is quite disappointing."

Naruto attempted to choke back the next bit of tears, but it was no use. He had never wanted to return to this room and he had made quite a run at it until now. Attempting to find his best point of balance, the blond moved his feet slightly. His toes were flat against the ground, but the rest of his foot was vertically in the air. Caught up in his own sense of despair, the younger boy didn't hear what had caught the other one's attention.

Sasuke pressed his finger against his brother's mouth and made a shushing motion. He then turned and made his way up the stairs. The smaller boy could see his brother even at the top of the stairs and definitely didn't miss the smirk that was sent to him before the lights were turned off and the door was shut. It took all of a second for Naruto to realize he was in complete darkness, and then, he screamed.

-/-

Sasuke glided across the floor until the front door rested in front of him. Opening the large wooden mass he found a woman and the runt that had been with his little brother earlier. "Hello, how may I help you at this late hour"?

The small brunette growled before taking a step towards the taller boy. "Where is my Naruto? What have you done to him? If you've hurten him anymore I'll kill ya I swear!" the boy all but screamed.

"Konohamaru!" the woman admonished. "We do not make threats, especially ones of such evil intent. Now, you be quiet and let me speak." Setting a hand on the boys head as if to physically keep his temper down, the woman looked to the male in front of her. "Hello there Uchiha, I apologize for my son. He was worried that something might have happened between you and your brother. Would you mind telling me what happened?" the woman's voice was calm and gentle.

The dark haired male nodded in understanding and ignored the boy's earlier outburst- he knew when it was in his best interest to control himself. "Well, only today did I return to the village from a training trip. When I came home expecting to find my brother in bed, I found him not in the house at all. Worried that something had happened I went out looking for him. Much to my surprise I found my brother in the company of your son. I rebuked my brother for being out past curfew. And I realize now that I may have crossed a line and for that I apologize, but I also told your son that he was a bad influence. Your son proceeded to call me a meany head and then I told them both that Naruto was no longer allowed to play with your son. To which your son decided I was an evil buttmunch. I told your son to go home and then brought my brother home." He paused in his speech and a thoughtful look crossed his face. "I really should have simply walked your boy home instead of sending him alone; then none of this would have happened. I am sorry for not doing just that."

"You're a liar!" Konohamaru blurted out pointing an accusing finger at the older boy. "That's not how it happen mom, he is lying"!

The woman looked down at her son and then at the older boy. Clearly upset about the way her son had acted early and then with the outburst, she brushed it off to address the Uchiha again. "Konohamaru told me that he saw you hit Naruto, is that true?" the question was asked so gently as if it wasn't questioning about a possible abuse at all.

"Mam, I would never hit my brother and I definitely did not hit him tonight. I understand that I upset the little one and he must be angry that I no longer approve of my brother having a friendship with him, but I think this is taking it a bit far," Sasuke answered in a smooth voice while looking disappointed at the younger male.

"Mom he is lying, you have to believe me!" the brunette cried out pulling on the woman's arm.

The woman seemed to be debating something before talking in a breath. "Do you think that perhaps we could come in and see Naruto to clear this whole thing up? Perhaps if Konohamaru can see the boy he will be relieved."

The raven haired male nodded before opening the door all the way to let them in. "He is up sleeping in his room, I will show you the way. Just try and be quiet to not wake him."

Konohamaru crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest upset at the whole event. Once they got upstairs he would make Naruto tell the truth to his mom.

Sasuke simply smirked from where he was heading the line. Thankful for his foresight and creativity, he opened the bedroom door to a peacefully sleeping blonde.

Quickly running to the side of the bed, the brunette shook the sleeping boy. "Naruto, Naruto, tell my mom about what happened, about Sasuke hitting you"!

"Boss?" the blond asked groggily as he slowly looked around the room.

"Yeah it's me buddy, you have to tell my mom about Sasuke hitting you," the smallest boy in the room demanded.

The newly woken boy looked confused. "But boss, Sasuke never hit me."

Konohamaru took a step back flabbergasted. "What are you talking about? I was there in the street when Sasuke hit you so hard that you went sprawling onto the ground."

Shaking his head, the blond apologized, "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble, but my brother never hit me."

The boy was about to protest again when his hand was grabbed by his mother. "That is enough Konohamaru. I am very sorry for disturbing you Naruto, you get back to sleep and have sweet dreams." The young Uchiha nodded in response before offering a wave bye to his friend.

Not at all happy about being pulled out of the room, the brunette started accusing the older male. "Something is going on here, something isn't right. Mom I was telling the truth."

"I said that is enough Konohamaru." Her words were final and had the silencing effect on her son. She turned and offered an apologetic smile to the raven haired male. "I am deeply sorry for intruding on your night."

Sasuke shook his head and motioned his hand as if it was no big deal. After walking them to the front door, he offered them a safe travel home before closing the large wooden mass. Turning away from the front door and back towards the back of the house, he smirked and dismissed his henged clone. Yes, he definitely loved his foresight.

A few seconds later put him opening a door and being assaulted with screams for help. He put a hand to his head as if to ward off a headache, before descending the stairs after closing the door behind him. "Come now little brother, you know that no sound leaves this room. You are simply wasting your breath and more than likely hurting your throat. However, you are giving me a headache, so," the boy drifted off and walked over to a shelf next to the circuit breaker and picked up a leather gag.

The blond snapped his mouth shut and locked his jaw not wanting that thing anywhere near his mouth. Yet, when pale finger jabbed into the joint near the ears, his mouth was forced open and the contraption secured in.

"There, much better," the older boy observed now that only muffled sounds were coming from the other boy. "Now, now, you have caused so much trouble. That little friend of yours came by attempting to make a problem of himself, but I took care of it. Don't worry you will still have that added to your punishment though." A dark chuckle left the other boy before he went back to the shelf and grabbed two more items.

The first was a blindfold that completely blacked out the blonde's vision. The second was a device that slipped over the boys head and onto his ears which rendered the boy as good as deaf. The boy trembled slightly hating the feeling of complete helplessness- he couldn't move, or talk, or see, or hear. With so many senses hindered the remaining ones were heightened. The taste of leather was prominent in his mouth, but he could almost taste his blood imbedded in it from years ago. For some reason all he could smell was his own fear, though sometimes he forgot how fear had smelt.

He could feel the metal around his wrists digging into the flesh. He could already feel the strain in his feet from holding his body weight up. He could feel all the devices on his face which felt suffocating. He definitely felt when his brother finally decided to strike and he swung back off of his feet and all of his weight slammed onto his wrists. It took swinging back and forth a couple times before he had managed to steady himself back on his toes.

Naruto had become the literal human punching bag. With each hit his body was swung around not only causing pain from the hit, but pain from the chains gripping tightly to his wrists, as well as his feet fighting the ground for a grip. He had screamed his throat raw even though he couldn't hear a single utterance.

Feeling his brother's hand glide down his cheek mockingly, he flinched away- which earned him a punch to his left cheekbone. After regaining his center, his tongue prodded for the source of the metallic taste in his mouth and located a loose tooth. Well that was just great, he would have to do his best not to aggravate it and lose the thing.

Idly wondering if he had any broken bones or if he was simply severely bruised, he wasn't prepared for the sudden cold when the back of his shirt was cut open. His body began to shake again dreading what he feared was happening.

Pain erupted in his back as a blade dug into the flesh. Sasuke was carving something in the young boys back. The blond attempted to pull away, but to do so only aggravate his current injuries. It also earned him the blunt end of a kunai to the back of his head in a not so friendly manner followed by a slightly deeper cut into his back. He realized quickly the lesson was stay still.

After his entire back was screaming in pain and wet with blood, the blade was finally removed. The coppery smell of blood was so strong in his nose that he couldn't smell anything else. Perhaps if the stench of his life substance hadn't been so potent he would have noticed something was off and would have had some warning.

However, he had no warning and about jumped out of his skin when an iron prodding stick straight out of the furnace dug into his open wound. A soundless scream shot through the abused throat as the boy franticly attempted to leave the source of burning. It seemed to work for a second, before the metal was brought back to a different section of the wound feeling even hotter this time.

The metallic smell was replace with that of burning flesh and was horrified to know that it was his flesh that was burning. For once he was glad he couldn't hear; he would hate to hear the sound his skin made as it charred. He knew his brother had to be hearing and _smelling _it to, but that didn't seem to stop the boy from continuing to fry the boy's back.

As Naruto attempted to find a place inside him to escape the pain, a part of him wondered what the older male wished to scar into his very being so badly. The boy had almost managed to find a place of unconsciousness, when a hand slapped his cheek. He felt the chakra pass through Sasuke's hand and into his face sending pure adrenaline to his brain and at once lighting every single nerve on high alert. Every pain receptor in his body screamed as a unit before shooting the message back to his brain.

The signals light up in his head allowing him to register for the first time just how much pain his body was in. The strangled cry that managed a trip up his throat and partially through the gag reflected that of a dying animal. Then as soon as it came, the pain stopped and sparkling blue eyes rolled into the back of the boy's head. Body becoming completely limp, the blond dangled from his wrists as his feet dragged on the ground. Naruto let out a ragged breath before struggling to take in another one.

With his arms held tight above his head and body hanging down, it was hard to expand his chest to take a breath. It was even harder now that he wasn't consciously working on breathing or holding himself up a bit to make it easier.

Light seemed to take over his vision and nearly blinded him. It didn't make sense, he hadn't felt the blindfold taken off, but he could most definitely tell there was a strong light on the other side of his closed eyes. Blinking said eyes open, Naruto was stunned that he could look into such bright light without his eyes burning. Then something very odd happened, a hand reached through the light that was also made of light. Tilting his head to the side he was at a complete loss as to what was happening.

Then without knowing how, he could feel his arm reaching out to touch the hand of light. That couldn't be right though, because his hand was still chained above his head. Yet his hand met the hand of light, then his hand became light and the light crawled up his arm and consumed him until he was light just like the arm that reached out to him. It was such a strange sensation, that all he could do was stare. Then, breaking his daze- the light spoke.

-/-

Sasuke watched the hanging boy carefully as if examining for something. It had been several seconds since the blond last took in a breath. He watched and waited as three more seconds passed by and no breath was taken. Walking to the wall slowly, he wondered if the smaller male was holding his breath in an attempt to escape. However, he did not want to kill the boy, so he unlatched the chain and lowered the boy to the ground. He reattached the chain just in case the boy was pulling a trick.

Nudging the boy with his foot, he noted that the boy did not move. He watched the blonde's chest as if mentally demanding it rise. The boy's lungs had no plan on obeying the older male's wishes. Crouching down, he moved to remove the gag from the boy's mouth thinking that might promote the boy to breath. However, even with the leather contraption out of the way, the boy still refused to breath.

He was about to shake the boy, when suddenly the blond took in a gasping breath. The older Uchiha nearly jumped since he had been staring so intently at the boy's chest. Then something very peculiar happened; red seemed to explode from the boy.

Naruto's body swirled with red chakra as the boy slowly moved to his feet. The movement was accompanied with sickening cracks and pops of the bones and muscles reforming themselves. Once the blond was upright, a red like fire erupted on the boy's back and there was a sizzling of flesh growing over the torn up mess of cuts and burns.

The chains around the boy's wrists seemed to burn white hot before they were snapped apart like a child's toy and the younger boy's hands were free. One hand gripped the blindfold while the other pulled the contraption off of his head.

Glaring at the raven haired boy were furious crimson red eyes. A growl tore through the boy's mouth before he leapt onto the larger boy.

"Don't," rose out of the blonde's mouth with evident hatred. Claw like hands gripped into Sasuke's shoulders hard enough to draw blood. "Ever." The older Uchiha was lifted off of the ground before being slammed back down. "Lay." The boy was smacked against the ground again. "Your." A hand was removed from a shoulder the plow into the other's face. "Filthy." The same hand grabbed raven locks before slamming the head into the ground. "Hands." Four bloody lines appeared on the boy's cheek and blood dripped off of Naruto's elongated nails. "On me." The bloody hand closed into a fist before punching the older boy in the abused face. "Again!" With a feral growl, Sasuke was lifted a thrown across the small room. His body smacked into the wall before sliding to the ground in an unmoving heap.

Blood like eyes continued to glare furiously at what they had deemed trash before finally flicking away and retreating up the stairs. With one last look at the battered Uchiha, he turned off the lights and closed the door.

-/-

Blue eyes blinked groggily and attempted to figure out just where they were. The last thing he could remember was that wonderful warm feeling light. He had felt so safe, so loved when the light wrapped around him. Had he died? Was he now in heaven? Perhaps that was the explanation for the light.

However, when his eyes adjusted to seeing again, he realized that he was in his room. He wasn't quite sure if he was relieved or disappointed that he was sitting peacefully on his bed. Honestly, he was still confused. He had no idea how he had gotten here. As far as he could remember he had still been in that dreadful room before saw the light.

Slipping out of bed, he quietly made his way across the floor and out of the room. Tiptoeing to his older brother's room, he poked his head inside and was shocked to find it empty. Something in his stomach didn't feel right. He moved around the house slowly in precaution to not alert the older boy if he was lurking around somewhere. He had almost made it to the kitchen when he spotted little droplets of blood on the floor.

Following them, he was led to the dreaded door. Pushing it open carefully, he quickly looked behind him to assure this wasn't some twisted trap his brother cooked up. Not feeling any movement anywhere around him, he slipped his hand in and flicked the light on. He was forced to take a step back when he saw a crumpled figure at the bottom of the steps.

Rushing down the steps, he knelt next to his brother. The boy looked bad. He had dried blood in his hair, on his face and over his shoulders. It didn't make since. How in the world had Sasuke gotten injured?

Scooping up the boy, he began to climb the steps. As he reached the top of the stairs, his heart froze. Had he done this to his brother? He remembered Sakura saying something about him tearing three people apart and he had no recollection of that either. His insides were quivering. No, he could never hurt his big brother so badly.

He shook his head and convinced himself that it didn't matter at this point. What mattered was making sure that Sasuke was okay. He laid the boy on the living room couch before running to grab the first aid and a bowl of water.

Rinsing off the blood, he was relieved to find that none of the wounds would do permanent damage. He proceeded to wrap the wounds after putting ointment on them. Later, when the sun was higher in the sky, he would take his brother to the hospital and have the wounds treated properly.

For now, he was almost too exhausted to move anymore. He had been so riddled with curiosity and then panic he hadn't notices just how tired and sore his body felt. Slumping against the couch where his brother was out cold, he felt into a fitful sleep with dreams that only further unsettled him. He hadn't really been the one to hurt his Aniki, was he?

* * *

**A/N:** Well there you go another chapter! Yay! See I was able to do it again. Hehe. So, what do you think? As always likes, dislikes, questions, complaints, comments, critique, requests, undying affection and the likes are all greatly appreciated and motivate me to write more and faster. The next chapter is going to be a doozey; that is if I don't get carried away on random descriptive detail/battle scenes/character interactions and not reach the crazy epic part in the next chapter. I tend to keep doing that though. I thought I would be able to fit so much more in the last two chapters, but hey a quality story comes before revealing all the plot twists. Guess you guys just have to keep your socks on for a bit longer.

Anyways, review and I shall be happy little writer with the mission to satisfy your reading needs sooner.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

By Boejangles

-/-

Naruto woke up with a pain in his neck and down his back. Stretching himself out, he realized the reason behind his pain was that he had slept most of the night hunched over the couch. His eyes fixed on his brother and the boy sighed. He had really been hoping that he had been having a crazy dream when he had found Sasuke injured. He honestly had no idea what had happened.

Staring intently at his brother's face, he lifted a finger to trace the deep scratch that rested on the boy's cheek. He had no idea how he was supposed to explain this to the hospital staff. The injuries weren't likely to pass as an accident or training related. Sighing, the blond brought both of his hands to his face. He wondered if this is how Sasuke felt when he had to make up some story for everyone else to believe. Then again, it seemed like the older boy never seemed to notice what he was saying was a story at all.

Moving his hands away from his face, the boy was at a complete and total lost. He couldn't think of a single thing that would explain the wounds. If he knew what it was, he would simply tell the hospital the truth- he didn't mind if he was in trouble for it. One thing was for certain though, the dark haired boy needed to go to the hospital one way or the other.

Standing up completely, he cradled the older boy to his chest and made his way to the people that could heal his brother.

-/-

A blue eyed boy sat on top of the Hokage monument hugging himself and biting his lip. He had ended up chickening out at the last minute and simply slipped his brother into one of the chairs in the emergency department waiting room and took off. He knew that someone would see the boy and he would get care.

However, he was still worried. He had no idea the extent of damage the boy had received. He wondered if waiting until morning had been a very bad idea on his part, what if he had caused further injury. Wrapping in on himself further, he shuddered. He still couldn't believe that his untouchable brother had been injured and everything pointed to him being the one that did it. Again he was forced to wonder if the raven haired male ever felt this exact same way, but his mind pushed the thought away.

The boy continued to worry for the next several hours. It wasn't until he ran into the cause of his worrying that he finally calmed down. He had finally decided he couldn't take it anymore and was heading to the hospital, when he spotted Sasuke walking down the street seemingly looking for something. He realized his older brother was looking for him when their eyes met and the taller boy rushed over. The smaller boy was quick to note that the nasty gashes that had previously marred the other boy's face were gone.

Over the next few minutes, the blond learned that Sasuke had woken up in the hospital with nurses fussing over him, that he had received a concussion and couldn't remember how he had been injured or how he got to the hospital, and that the hospital staff had notified animal control to be on the lookout for a wild best running around the village. It took every ounce of self control to not laugh in relief that his brother was fine and had no idea he was the one that had caused all of this. A part of him had been terrified that his brother would wake up in a rage, hunt him down and kill him. He was very relieved that this was not the case. In fact, the two spent a relatively peaceful day just taking it easy, seeing as the older Uchiha still had the lingering effects of a headache.

-/-

The rest of the week finished with relative ease. The day of the tournament snuck up on everyone. Chunin hopefuls gathered in the arena hoping that they would make it. There were eight in total hoping to make it to the next level. One blond looked around nervously, worried about the fight he was meant to take place in and was glad he wasn't the first to fight.

Looking around the faces standing near him, he was glad to know most of them. There was Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, Shino, and of course Sasuke. Then there were the demented red head and his female teammate. He wasn't sure who was fighting who; he just knew that his first fight was against his older brother. He was distracted from his thoughts when everyone save Shino and Kiba were asked to leave the arena and wait in the deck above.

Once safely on the deck, Naruto leaned over the banister. He knew the two boys below were teammates, so they must know a lot about each other's attacks. He wondered if that same thing happened to them and they were separated to train for the tournament. Watching as the fight started, he attempted to figure out who was going to win.

Both males seemed to be simply watching the other, and then the brunette took off in a spinning motion towards the other male only to be pushed off. The fight seemed to be at a standstill and both males seemed to be at the same level. Kiba then slipped his dog a pill and suddenly there were two of him.

The fervor of the brunette's blows picked up speed. However, the hooded male continued to just dust off the blows of one while side stepping the other. Suddenly one Kiba changed back to Akamaru in a puff of smoke and the other fell to his knees. Upon closer inspection you could see the tiny bugs crawling over brunette and his canine companion.

The match was called in Shino's favor and the boy retracted the bugs to keep his teammate from passing out. He then helped the boy up and out of the arena.

The sandy haired blonde girl and Lee were called down to the arena and Naruto was reminded that the girl's name was Temari.

"Oh man this is going to be fast," the blond said from where he was perched against the railing. "Lee is gonna lay her out." He missed the glance that was shot at him from the red head on the other side of the balcony.

The fight started out slow with both getting a feel for the other one. Lee did not feel it was youthful to fight a girl, but he needed to pass this round so that he had a chance fighting the male that disgraced the lovely Sakura.

With blinding speed, Lee shot out landed a kick to the center of the girl's chest. The blonde fell back before jumping up with a growl. Snapping her fan open, she sent a just of wind at the boy. However, the green clad male simply jumped out of the way before moving back in to land a solid blow on again.

When the girl was ready to swing her fan again, the male was ready to dodge to the left when his feet refused to move. He had a second to be puzzled before he was flying through the air. Small cut appeared all over his body from the tiny wind knives. Jumping up to charge the girl, he found his feet wouldn't move again. This time he was able to look down before flying into the wall of the arena.

A small cry of pain left his mouth before he managed to land on his feet in a crouch. He could have almost sworn that there had been sand covering his feet, but that didn't make sense. Rushing the girl, he was two feet away when his legs locked and he was assaulted by three of Temari's wind attacks rapid fire before the wind launched him into the air.

Lee was through confused and his body was beginning to ache. He couldn't recall the girl being able to manipulate sand or use a jutsu to freeze her opponents. Spinning while on his decent back to the earth, he managed to kick off of a tree and land a kick to the female right shoulder and send her sprawling.

He ran towards the fallen girl as the blonde managed to get back onto her feet. Pulling back one foot to kick again, he was assaulted with wind and thrown backwards. His body flew before landing back against a boulder. The boy cried out as he coughed up blood. His body was screaming in protest when he attempted to stand back up. Yet it didn't matter since he couldn't get his body to move. He could clearly see the sand around his ankles. Sending a punch to the sand around his ankle, he missed the female's attack and the wind whipped his body back against the rock so hard that the male ceased to move. Blood ran down the rock from where the male's head had made impact.

Medic nin ran into the arena after Temari was dubbed the winner. They were very careful with Lee's body. The mechanism of injury lead a high chance of a spinal injury so that wanted to be especially cautious.

Naruto screamed in frustration as he watched another of his friends be carried out on a stretcher. He was so sick of these sand nins being so brutal.

No one noticed the red head in the corner slowly lower his hand from in front of his face, or the grin that rested on the boy's lips. Smoothing his face to that of impassiveness, Gaara made his way down the stairs and into the arena ready to destroy his latest prey- the Nara.

Shikamaru 'tched' before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Man, what a drag." Slowly making his way to the arena he attempted to think over all the strategies he had gone over in his mind before. He was not at all pleased about being paired against the homicidal maniac. His plan was to show the judges what he had before backing out before the arena was covered with his blood.

Naruto had to fight the urge to close his eyes. He really wasn't looking forward to watching the fight. He knew the red head was a monster and while Shikamaru was a genius, he wasn't sure if that was enough. He watched as Gaara seemed to just stand there impassively as the pineapple headed male was evaluating the situation. The blond almost gasped in recognition when he noticed a shadow creeping up behind the greed eyed male.

A smirk managed to make its way to Shika's face when he locked on to his target. "Shadow possession, complete." He took a step forward and the red head mimicked him and took a step forward.

A wicked green seemed to take over Gaara's face before he began to laugh, which unsettled everyone who could hear it- especially the Nara. Looking at his opponent with wild eyes, the red head mouthed the words 'you lose'. Sand shot out from the smaller male and struck the other boy in the chest so hard it forced him in the air and to break his concentration on his jutsu.

Shikamaru cursed under his breath. It seemed that the sand couldn't be controlled by his shadow techniques. He saw the sand moving in on him and managed to jump away and scream that he forfeited before he became a puddle of broken mush.

The sand nin seemed disappointed at the loss of his play toy, but simply vanished in a whirl of sand before reappearing on the balcony.

Thankful to have only sustained a couple fractured ribs, the pineapple haired male made his way out of the arena and into the infirmary to have his bones mended.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Naruto was glad that his friend hadn't ended up like Sakura had. However, the relief vanished when it dawned on him that it had come time for his and Sasuke's fight. He was once again torn at how to approach the situation; should he give it his all and risk injuring and therefore angering his brother, or should he play it weak and risk aggravating his brother that way. Either way he was going to lose in the end. It was at times like these he almost hated life.

With a deep breath and a gulp, the blond followed his brother down the steps and into the arena. Biting his lip, he looked to the proctor and almost begged that he not start the match yet. Not seeming to get his telepathic message, there was a hollered 'go!'.

Smaller boy attempted to smile at the other. "Let's give them a really good show Aniki"!

The older boy seemed to smile back before launching an easily dodged fireball at his brother.

-/-

Naruto wasn't sure what had happened. They had been sparring beautifully showing off what they had to offer when Sasuke missed a step and received a fireball to the chest. Everything came crashing down from there. The dark haired male got that demented look in his eye and took off after the blonde as if he was out for blood.

The youngest Uchiha was zipping through the few offered trees in the arena and attempting to think of a way out of this mess when he was thrown out of the tree and landed harshly on his back. Looking up into eyes that spoke of pain and suffering, he was caught off guard when the older male lunged at him and wrapped his fingers around the boy's throat.

Sasuke leaned down to the blonde's ear before beginning to whisper. "I am going to set things straight. I should have killed you back when I took care of the rest of them. I thought my last warning would have made you appreciate life so much more, but I guess I was wrong."

Blue eyes widened to an impossible feat. Realizing which Sasuke he was dealing with, he understood the possibility of him actually dying in this fight. However, if he was going to die, he wanted- no, needed to know why his family had died. Attempting to take in as much air as possible, he wheezed out, "W..why"?

The larger male almost laughed at the question before smirking. "You want to know why? I suppose I can tell you before I send you to join them." He let up the slightest bit on the pressure given to the boy's neck so that the blond wouldn't black out too quickly. "You were always so perfect. Cute little Naru-chan, momma's little helper. She loved you so much. Itachi was perfect too, the damn prodigy. Dad only had enough love in his heart for Itachi. Auntie and Uncle would always ride me: why couldn't I be more helpful like you, why wasn't I strong like Itachi. You had mom and dad had Itachi- who did I have? You were both so fucking perfect, so fucking special. I had nothing, no one loved me. So I showed them both how perfect you two really were. Neither one of you were able to save them, so I guess they placed their money on the wrong son. It is all your fault really; if you weren't in the picture mom would have loved me and Itachi would have noticed me. But because of you, they are dead. And I was right all along, if you were so perfect and special you wouldn't be so weak."

A cry of outrage left the smaller boy's lips as he struck out both of his hands causing the pair to roll until he stopped with him on top of his brother. His hands latched onto the older boy's neck as tears streamed down his face and ran along his bruised neck. "You are so fucking stupid!" the boy screamed and cussed, both of which were rare for him. Looking straight into charcoal eyes, the boy lowered his voice as he left his emotions flow off of him. "Mom loved you, she loved you so much. Itachi loved you; that is why he is gone now having run off so that you could live your life. I loved you; I adored you when we were kids, I wanted to be just like you my perfect older brother. Mom didn't even fight back when you killed her, because her heart was broken because she had loved you so much. Itachi killed his best friend for you, because he loved you. I have struggled through these years of constant abuse because I love you. Every beating I've taken because I love you and hoped that someday you'll get better. So don't you dare say that no one loved you." Naruto sobbed as his brother lost consciousness.

Dropping his forehead against the older boy's he was having the hardest time accepting the reason that he lost everyone precious to him. He couldn't figure out how the boy had come to the conclusion that he was unloved or how that led to the slaughter of his family. Taking a shaky breath, the blond moved to stand up and wiped away his tears. The match was called in Naruto's favor and the raven haired male was carried out by the medics who noted that he had only lost consciousness.

Up in the stands, Kakashi was watching his two male students and wondering what in the world had occurred between the two. They had both been so quite that the only part of the conversation that the older male caught was when the blond screamed that his brother was fing stupid.

The blond made his way out of the arena and was heading back up the stairs with his head hung when he was shoved down the few steps he had climbed up.

"Hey there blondie, you just cost us a good bit of money," the male that had shoved him chided. Naruto moved to push the male aside when he was grabbed from behind by another male. "Now, now, we are going to get our money back, you are going to lose your next fight." With that statement the man grabbed the boy's neck and sent a surge of chakara through the boy.

The Uchiha screamed out in pain as his body spasmed slightly. The sound of foot falls coming down the steps caused the two older males to run out of the hallway. Before they had made it all the way out they turned and grinned at each other- mission complete.

Picking himself off the floor, Naruto managed to get to his feet before Temari and Shino walked by and into the arena. As he began his ascent back up the stair, his hand instinctively moved to his neck. It was pulsing in pain; he really hoped this went away before his fight with the psycho red head.

He managed to make it to the balcony before the fight between the two victors of their first match started. The girl seemed to want to get things over with fast and was sending her wind strikes rapid fire at the hooded boy. However, each time the wind made contact the boy would burst into a swarm of bug. The blonde wanted to end the fight so badly, that she missed the fact that each time the swarm of bugs disappeared a few would stay behind.

She was just about fed up with the boy's ability to poof when said male spoke in a clam voice and told her to give up. "Are you stupid? I have no reason to give up."

Shino pointed all around the female. "You are surrounded." When he said this, the bugs that had previously been resting on the ground took to the air with a collect buzz that sounded like deep humming.

Temari attempted to send the bugs flying, but when she struck in one direction, they came in from a different one. She screamed in panic and she started swinging her fan around in an attempt to beat the bugs off of her. She could feel her chakara leaving her and decided to take the lesser of two evil. "I give, I give," she shouted loud enough for the proctor to hear.

Naruto clapped loudly for Shino glad that they had managed to beat the Suna nin. "Yeah! Way to go Shino! That is how we do it"! All of his cheering was rewarded with a simple glance of recognition from the quiet male.

After cheering on his fellow Konoha ninja, the blond shot his eyes towards the red head that was already making his descent down the stairs. This was the fight he had been waiting for. He honestly hadn't thought he would make it past Sasuke, but he had. Now he had the chance to show the male just what he thought about what happened to Sakura. With this in mind, his simply jumped over the side of the banister and landed in a crouch. The cloud of dirt his landing caused slowly dissipated and revealed a red head with a raised eyebrow.

"Finally got tired of following someone weaker than you?" the boy's voice was monotone as he asked the question. The blond wasn't sure if the other male was trying to annoy him, but he was. What happened between him and Sasuke was none of this guy's business.

Wanting to remove the condescending smirk from the other's face, the blond lashed out, but was met with sand. The battle continued like this for several minutes. The smaller boy was beginning to be severely ticked off. He felt his anger was just about at a boiling point when he felt a sharp pain in his neck.

Grabbing the source of pain in frustration, he had to jump back to avoid being struck by sand. That was it; he was really going to show this kid a piece of his mind. He ran in for a hit when he was shoved back again. Jumping up, he ran towards the male again. He refused to give up or back down. The sand shot at him again, however, instead of hitting him it was intercepted by an inky darkness.

Naruto stared in wonder as the sand and inky darkness fought. He knew on some level that the darkness was bad, but right now it didn't feel like his insides were boiling and maybe just maybe he could win now.

Gaara grinned, yes mother was excited by this new turn of event. She had wanted to feed on the blood of the creature that managed to destroy Kankuro's pretty face.

The darkness and sand were locked in a deadly battle each trying to overpower the other. Then as if sensing a bigger threat, the inky tendrils shot past the sand and towards the red head dodging the sand that attempted to stop it. It would have been the turn in the fight if the sand hadn't taken off with the same idea.

The blond had three seconds to prepare himself before sand wrapped around his neck and lifted him into the air. His only comfort came in the fact that the red head across from him was also dangling in the air and struggling to breathe. It seemed they were going to kill each other and for some reason the younger boy was okay with this. He had always thought his death would come from his brother's hands, but dying to avenge Sakura seemed a bit better.

The sand started to tighten around his neck and he was hoping that whatever the darkness was it was doing the same. It would be a shame if he died and didn't take the red head with him. Just when the inky tendrils and sand were about to tighten to a point of snapping the boys' necks a large explosion filled the stadium.

As smoke filled the arena, Naruto's body began a sharp decent towards the ground. On his fall down, he was able to identify the source of the explosion as the Kage booth. Slamming into the ground, the blond feared the nightmare was just beginning.

* * *

**A/N: **Okie there is your next update. How many people do I have shocked at how fast the story is being updated?

Anyways I have started a little guilty pleasure story which I am enjoying writing very, very much. That story received the same amount of reviews in the first few hours of being posted as the last chapter of this story received in three days. So, if you guys want me to focus on this speak up or I will be working on this in between indulging myself on the other story. The plan is still to finish this before school starts up again, so don't worry too much.

As always tell me what you think and feel free to ask any questions you might have! I love to hear from you.

_**Boe**_


	31. Chapter Thirty

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Thirty**

By Boejangles

-/-

Oh and what a nightmare it was. The entire arena was filled with debris after a series of explosions erupted throughout the village. Naruto managed to push himself to his knees before the inky darkness began to crawl up his arms. A scream tore through his mouth as he threw himself onto his back and attempted to scrape the blackness off of him.

His attempts were futile as the thing, whatever is was, continued to consume him. He could feel it climbing up his throat and over his face. His back arched and a scream of pure agony left his lips at the tendrils of darkness shoved themselves into his mouth and eyes.

The youngest Uchiha lay completely motionless on the ground as chaos ensued around him. The boy appeared dead for all intent and purposes. And dead was exactly what Gaara thought the blond was as he approached him.

The red head had watched in curiosity as his opponent began to wither in pain. It was as if the boy's body destroyed itself. He had no idea why or how, but he really didn't care; he only regretted that he wasn't able to kill the boy himself.

He was staring down at the motionless body when pitch black eyes snapped open and black spike shot from the blonde and into his chest. It had moved too fast for his sand to react and it was strong enough to penetrate his sand armor. With a strange slurping sound the thing removed itself from inside him.

Gaara felt as though he was moving in slow motion. His hand moved to his chest and became wet. His hand moved in front of his face and he saw red. His brain took a moment to comprehend that he was bleeding; a part of him always thought he didn't have blood: he had never bled before. It was in complete fascination that he stared at his bloody hand. Even as he feel to his knees and then crumpled to his side, his eyes never lingered from the red substance. His own life source was the last thing he saw before his eyes slid closed.

-/-

Kakashi was forced to dodge an incoming kunai that was intent on taking him out. With a quick flick of his wrist, he decided to return the favor- his target was not as lucky. It was in the split second that he was turning from one opponent to the other that he noticed a moving black mass down in the arena.

Quickly grabbing the man into a sharp choke hold that snapped the man's neck, he turned his attention back to the arena. Time seemed to stand still as the black being growled and began running on all fours as if a wild animal. It was in horror that he realized that the evil looking creature was in fact his youngest student.

Moving his head to the side quickly to avoid being impaled with a sharp object, his attention was drawn back to the fight.

"Naruto!" He heard the scream from his left and turned to see his pink haired student leaning against the stadium's banister as his chidori slid into the heart of an attacking ninja.

"Sakura, I need you to wake as many genin as you can and have them begin moving civilians out of the stands and danger," his voice was commanding in a way that seemed to bring a calming aura.

"But Naruto…" Sakura trailed off as her attention returned to the raging male.

"Is very dangerous right now and should not be confronted by you." Kakashi's voice held a finality that was not to be questioned.

The female genin gave a small nod as she finally tore her eyes away from the black creature that had run full speed up the side of the stadium. Biting her lip and shaking her head, Sakura began searching for any and all Konoha genin that could help in the disastrous situation.

Quickly eliminating another enemy, the silver haired male turned his attention back to his youngest student. Naruto had begun climbing up the pillars that went up the portion of the stand that held viewer seating and supported the roof. Tilting his head, he wondered just where the boy was going. Allowing his eyes to slide upwards, he noticed the purple shimmering wall that stood on top of the stadium roof.

As the small form rounded the end of the roof and shot itself full speed at the glimmering chakra. It was like watching a moth fly into a bug zapper. Kakashi's eyes widened in horror as the boy's body hit the wall and began to jerk violently as if being electrocuted by the mysterious wall.

-/-

Orochimaru's complete focus was on killing his sensei before the senile old man was able to rob him of his soul. Shoving his sword further into the hokage's chest he was determined to win. He could almost feel the light leaving the older man's eyes when a large screeching explosion erupted to his left.

His attention diverted that direction and was quite impressed with the sight. His experiment in progress was attempting to claw through the barrier even as his body convulsed. His satisfaction in his creation was shortly lived as he experienced a sudden tugging sensation on his mind and his chest seemed to compress.

Moving his eyes in front of him, Orochimaru reeled at the satisfaction in Sarutobi's eyes. That was when the falling sensation began and everything began to burn.

-/-

Sarutobi had grimaced in pain when he noted a black mass flying towards the side of whatever barrier his old student had placed. The sound of the creature hitting the purple wall was the only distraction he needed.

Ripping out the last of his once beloved student's soul, he felt no satisfaction: only a sad bitterness at what had been lost.

The barrier crashing down all around him was the last thing the Hokage witnessed before the cold embrace of death welcomed him.

-/-

Crimson spotted silver hair weaved through the crowd leaving a corpse every few feet. The man felt the need to reach his student increase tenfold when the chakra that had been holding him in the air thrashing about dissipated and allowed the boy's body to drop out of sight.

Killing a sand nin and throwing the body over the balcony onto a sound nin that was fighting Asuma, Kakashi run up the same pillar Naruto has used previously to make his way to the roof. The sight that waited him was one he had not prepared himself for.

ANBU were in the process of detaining a group of what looked the be children, two ANBU were crouched above the Hokage with their hands glowing green, a silver haired male with glasses, who he vaguely remembered from the previous stage of the exams, was standing protectively over the already decaying corpse of Orochimaru while another set of ANBU were circling and preparing for an attack, and in the midst of the chaos the figure of a boy was crumpled on the roof.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, I know: you have been waiting forever and this chapter is barely a teaser. However, I figured instead of holding onto it and banging my head on the wall wait for the next part to come to me I would update it a little more with some new stuff I have an go ahead and give you what I had. I know what is going to happen in the near future, I am still just unsure how we are going to get there.

Thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying. Again sorry for the super long wait I could list out all of the very valid reasons, but I highly doubt you care.

Review and tell me what you think, questions, suggestions, anything like that.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Thirty One**

By Boejangles

-/-

Kakashi ran to the blonde's side and flipped him over so he could view the boy's face. The first thing he noticed were the horrible burns covering the boy's entire body. The second thing he noticed was that Naruto's lips had taken on a blue tint. Tilting the boy's head back, he lowered his head so his ear was above the boy's mouth and his eyes were trained on the small chest. He waited longer than he was trained to as he willed the boy's chest to move. When it finally sunk as a reality that his student was in fact not breathing; he gave two quick rescue breaths before checking for a pulse: it was thread, faint, and erratic- but it was there.

The relief Hatake felt at finding the heart beat was push aside when Naruto refused to breathe. With another set of rescue breaths, he screamed. "Don't die on me! Medic, I need a medic!" Frantic eyes whirled around in a frenzy to find anyone that could help. He saw someone running in their direction and could feel relief flooding his system until the person veered and rushed to the fallen Hokage's side.

A bitter laugh fell from his lips. Who was he kidding, why would they help some kid when the leader of their village looked dead. Resisting the urge to shake the blonde, Kakashi's heart clenched as the cyanosis spread from the boy's lips to give his face an eerie blue tint. "No, damnit no!" he cried out before breathing into his youngest student and forcing small lungs to inflate.

Fingers shaking with adrenaline searched for a pulse; not finding one they pushed deeper. There is was. It was growing weaker, harder to find. "I will not lose you to," he breathed out with wavering determination. Taking in a deep breath, he forced air into Naruto's lungs once again. Knowing he had a few second before the boy's body absolutely needed oxygen again; he picked up the boy, barely flinching when the burned skin moved with his grasp, and hugged the youngest Uchiha to his chest.

He was running faster than when he raced Gai, he needed to reach the hospital. He had to keep believing that not everyone would be busy with injured. The mental count down in his head reached three and he halted to set the boy down on a roof. Tilting Naruto's head back, he gave two steady even breaths urging the young boy's body to accept the oxygen he was attempting to provide it. He didn't waste the time to check for a pulse again, he just scooped the boy up.

It was only thanks to his years of training that he was able to dodge to the side and only receive a kunai to the shoulder. "I am not in the mood," you growled out in a menacing tone before moving his arm the was cradled under the blonde's legs to lodge a kunai into the sound nin's forehead. The mishap took away precious time and caused him to lose speed. He had to stop again to give Naruto more air. Flinching as he lifted the boy, Kakashi cursed the wound in his shoulder. He had fought through worse though and nothing was going to stop him.

Bursting through the hospital doors didn't get as surprised of a reaction as he was expecting. His eyes danced around attempting to local the medical nin among the injured. Too caught up in his raging thoughts, he was having trouble locating anyone. He decided to use the next best method: taking in a breath, he screamed, "He's not breathing!"

This caught two medics attention who had been attending to a broken leg and facial laceration respectively. In times of mass causality there was a triage system: walking wounded with minor injuries are green, those likely to live if simple care is given within hours are yellow, those that are critical and are likely to survive if simple life saving measures are applied rapidly are red, and those that are dead or are likely to die soon are black.

Kakashi knew for a fact that the two the medics had left were green; while the boy in his arms was a red if he ever saw one. Setting Naruto down so they could help him, he took a small step back. Anger flared up in him as he grabbed the medical ninja's shoulder and whirled him around. "What the hell!" he demanded pointing at the black band the man had placed on the blonde's wrist.

"I'm sorry sir, he is going to die," the man said as calmly as he could.

"His heart is still beating damnit!" Kakashi cussed and didn't know if he wanted to punch the man in front of him or fall to his knees and cry.

"We don't have enough resources to help him." The matter of fact tone in the man's voice set the silver haired sensei off.

Falling to his knees to give the boy more air, he shook the boy violently and could feel his eyes ready to betray him. No, no he would not lose his student. Looking up at the ninja that had declared his student dead, his eyes became like ice. "Help him or I will kill you."

The medical ninja began to shake since the tone in the Hatake's voice gave no room for sympathy. Looking around frantically, the man began to yell. "All medics working on greens or decently controlled yellows to the trauma room and I need a doctor now." Moving to pick up the boy's body, he wasn't as successful at not flinching when of piece of the boy's skin slipped in his grip. It took all of his training not to puke right there.

Kakashi followed the man as he watched people in white coated moving to a room in the back and getting into gowns. It wasn't until the man carrying Naruto reached the door of the room that he turned around. "You are going to have to wait out here."

"If I find out you let them give up on him-you're dead." Kakashi's threat was expressed in his eyes and there was no doubt in them. If they deemed his student too much of a burden and let him die; he would kill the man it being a crime or not. It wasn't until the door shut off his view of the people racing around the room that he fell to his knees.

Hands reached up to tug at his hair. This couldn't be happening again. First his father, then his best friend, then his last remaining teammate, then his sensei. It wasn't fair. They couldn't take his favorite student and only memento of Minato he had left. The kid was like family to him: the only family he had left.

Kakashi didn't know how long he stayed on the floor before finally pulled himself up and fell onto the bench lining the hallway. Or how much longer after that it was until the sound of running footsteps caused him to break out of his thoughts a look up. A blur of red and pink settled in front of him with panting breaths.

Emerald green eyes looked into his with desperation. "Is it true?" Sakura choked out, "Is Naruto…dead?"

Shaking his head violently, Kakashi pulled his only female student into a reassuring embrace. "No, no, no. He isn't dead. They are working on him right now. You know our Naruto, he can pull through anything. He is going to be fine." Sakura didn't seem the notice the waver in his voice or the fact he was attempting to convince himself as much as he was her. "Who told you Naruto was dead?"

Pulling out of her sensei's embrace, she wiped furiously at her eyes. "Kiba, said that when he brought in an injured civilian, that he saw them put a black band on Naruto."

"That was just a misunderstanding," the silver haired ninja attempted to keep the anger out of his voice as he ruffled pink hair. Kakashi took a closer look at Sakura when he realized she was still panting. "Hey now, deep breaths." He moved the girl and adjusted her so that she was laying down on the bench. Mentally cursing himself, he looked the girl over. The doctor had barely allowed Sakura to leave the hospital with orders to take it easy and here he had given her orders to help usher civilians out of the arena. He was sure that her sprinting to the hospital hadn't helped at all.

"Are you hurt," he asked as he pushed pink hair off of her sweaty forehead as her breathing evened out.

"No," she said while forcing a smile. "I just don't seem to have my strength back yet." Sakura moved to push herself up, when her sensei forced her shoulders back down.

"Rest, the last thing I need is two students to worry about." With that train of thought, Kakashi's mind quickly flashed to Sasuke. He wondered where the boy was. He had been in the arena's rehab area. He hadn't seen that part of the arena destroyed. All of the patients there should have been taken to the hideout. If so, then Sasuke wouldn't be around until the village was officially deemed safe and everyone was allowed to leave the bunker.

They fell into peaceful silence, neither wanting to face that the longer they went without any news the worst it probably was. Both were feigning ignorance and replaying the phrase 'no news is good news.' Well, at least no one had come out with their head bowed asking if they wanted a moment to say goodbye.

Sakura did not like where her thoughts were going one bit. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips as she thought of the blonde- her little brother. A funny little fact, even while most of your mind is shut down, the mind can still hear. Not everything made perfect sense, but she just knew that Naruto had been talking to her even when she wasn't all there. He must have come close to every day for it to have imprinted on her memory so strongly. She simply refused to believe that their positions were about to be reversed or worse.

"He is going to be okay, right?" she choked out as she looked up at Kakashi begging him to have the answer.

Ready to reassure the girl with a dismissive comment about how strong the boy was, Kakashi faltered. Those green eyes staring up at him demanded, no, pleaded for truth. "I don't know," his voice was sad, "I just don't know."

* * *

**A/N:** Whabam! Yeah so I have been attempting to work on this story for months, but I would sit down to type get a few words and then erase everything and close my laptop with a huff. Nothing was quite working the way I wanted it to. Then I am driving in my car and a song comes on my i-pod and boom like a train how this chapter is supposed to play out hits me right in the frontal lobe. So, I present you this chapter. So, I have some more I need to write (like right after I upload this), but this felt like the right ending for this chapter and the next part feels like the right beginning for the next chapter.

So, tell me what you think and all that jazz. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you have enjoyed!

Thanks and Tata!

_**Boe**_


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

**Insanity's Slip**

**Chapter Thirty Two**

By Boejangles

-/-

Kakashi had counted how many tiles were in the patch of ceiling above his head at least ten times. The girl beside him had fallen into a restless sleep after breaking down into sobs when he couldn't magically make everything better. His mind was raging war against itself; part of him refused to give up on the small boy in the other room, but the other part knew that enough time had gone by for them to harvest all of his organs. With how long they were in there, at least he knew they hadn't given up on the child.

His mind began to wander to darker areas when the door opened. Launching to his feet, he stared at the male that walked out in anticipation. It was the medic that had originally carried the boy into the room, the same one whose life he had threatened.

"Hatake," he spoke as he let out his breath and fiddled with his hands. "We did everything that we can do."

At the man's words, Kakashi growled, "Don't tell me."

Holding his hands up in defense, the man's eyes widened. "Sir, we tried everything that we could." Moving to calm the situation as much as he could, he hurried on, "He isn't dead."

Relief seemed to flood the tall man's system. His beloved student was alive. Question entered his eyes at the realization: if Naruto was in fact alive, why was the man so fidgety. "Tell me everything."

"Perhaps you should sit down," the medic gestured toward the bench.

Kakashi simply crossed his arms as the door opened again and the other medics that had gone in rushed out and seemed to be on their way to attend to other patients. The fact they were leaving the room and he didn't know what was going on aggravated him. "Just tell me what I need to know about my student."

Conceding to the fact that the other male wasn't going to sit, the smaller male took in a breath. "Well, as you know when he came in he was not breathing on his own and was severely burned. We quickly placed him on a machine that would breathe for him. We believed that his breathing difficulty was from him going into shock from the burns.

So, we rushed to the operating room, where the clothes that had melted to him were surgically removed and his burns were debried. Concerned with the loss of body heat, his wounds were dressed and he was wrapped in a warmer."

Kakashi wasn't a medic by any means, but he knew that the root of all death was some sort of shock and that if you are out in the field with a wounded soldier one of your highest concerns was keeping them warm. Nodding his head, he expressed his understanding and urged the male to continue.

"With his wounds treated, we were hoping that he would become stable. However, there was no improvement. That was when the true problem was revealed. None of us are quite sure how, since we have never seen a jutsu like it, but whatever he was attacked with literally fried his chakra network. His chakra coils were burned to the point that chakra could not pass through them. As if chakra rushed to his heart and brain it must have created a protective barrier, because the networks in those areas, while damaged, were still able to function.

We aren't sure how much damage either of them received from lack of oxygen, but his heart is still beating on its own. Since we have never seen anything like this, we have no way of healing it. We simply couldn't fix his chakra system. The best we could do was place tiny probes to feed chakra to his organs to keep them from suffering cell death. Even with our machines feeding his lungs chakra, he was unable to breathe on his own. We fear he may have suffered brain damage to part that functions the central controls." The man stopped speaking and looked at the silver haired male with concern.

Kakashi's eyes bounced around as he attempted to place everything together and sort through all the information had been given. "So," he started slightly hesitant. "What does he need to get better?"

"Besides a miracle?" The medic lifted his hands in defeat and shook his head. "I don't know. We have done everything that we can. With the machines, he won't die. His heart and brain are functioning enough that with oxygen being pumped into his body his is able to properly circulate his blood. However, I don't know if he will ever wake up."

There was a sharp cry from the men's side. They turned in time to see a young genin with sitting up with shock on her face and her hands covering her mouth. Standing up, she ran down the hallway before she could burst to tears.

"Sakura," the silver haired male called out as he watched the girl run. He didn't know how much she had heard besides the man saying their lovable blonde may never wake up.

"I am sorry about that," the medic apologized while rubbing the back of his head in slight guilt. "Would you like to see him? He was just transported upstairs to a critical care room."

Dropping his hand that he had reached out as if he could stop the running girl, he turned to the man and nodded. If there was even a glimmer of a chance that his student could pull though- he would be the one to do it.

-/-

Sakura wailed as she ran down the streets slowly filling with people surveying the damage and sporting their own tears. She didn't care that her legs were starting to hurt or that she was feeling weak. She didn't care that she was told to take it easy. She didn't care about anything, but the words that were ringing in her head.

"Sakura, hey, Sakura." Blatantly ignoring whoever was calling her, she continued to run. Her body forced its forward progression when arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. "Sakura, stop it!"

The screaming voice next to her ear was enough to momentarily snap her out of her wailing to turn and view who held her captive.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Pale blue eyes stared at her with concern.

"Oh Ino!" The pink haired girl turned in her best friend's hold and clung to the girl. "N…Naruto, the doctor said he may never wake up again."

The platinum blonde was never able to express the shock that filled her eyes as someone behind her hissed. She felt a hand on her shoulder before she was roughly pushed aside. Stumbling and regaining her balance, she watched as Sakura was pulled into a tight grip.

Sakura continued to sob as if the fingers burying themselves in her arms had absolutely no affect on her. Her glossy eyes focused on the purplish bruise marring her captor's neck. Her cries grew louder; even with how messed up it was, seeing Naruto's handprints on his brother's throat just made her miss him more.

"What. Did. You. Say. Sakura?" Sasuke's voice came out between jagged pants. He felt as though his mind was spinning and he was about to fall into a never ending darkness. If he lost his little brother, if he lost Naruto, he might as well die.

Seeming completely unaffected by the little red crescent moons her teammate's fingernails were making in her arm, she took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "The doctor was talking to Kakashi about Naruto and said he may never wake up again."

When he released the girl, it was as if he took all of her remaining energy. Before Sasuke could completely turn away from the girl to rush to the hospital, Sakura had fallen to her knees with her head hung low.

Ino rushed to her best friend's side and wrapped her in a tight embrace. The thought of her baby in a coma deep enough that medical ninja couldn't pull him back out shook her to the core. Burying her face in pink locks, she openly wept in the middle of the destruction brought by the fighting.

-/-

Temari panted as she set down her younger brother. Looking around frantically she began to whistle softly. There was a rustle in the tree next to her before a black figure jumped down next to her.

"Kankuro," she called out as she looked up into his still terribly swollen face. Stitches held pieces of bruised flesh together. The medics had said he was lucky to be alive. Kankuro didn't feel so lucky about the situation.

The brown haired boy looked down at the unmoving red head. Even surrounded by all the swelling he managed to widen his eyes: his brother was unconscious, but not going on a rampage. It took him a few seconds before his eyes finally processed that the blood covering Gaara was his own. Gasping, he took a step back. "What…what happened?"

"It was that Uchiha. He, he skewered him!" She screamed. Sure she had always been terrified of the boy, but that didn't stop her from loving her brother.

"Is he…" the boy couldn't bring himself to finish his statement. His eyes were glued on his little brother's completely still form. When his sister nodded her head, he let out a humorless wrath as he clutched his stomach.

Temari looked at Kankuro through tear stained eyes as if he had just grown a second head.

"First he breaks my face and then he kills my brother," his statement sounded crazed through the psychotic laughter. "I should have killed him when the punk ran into." His eyes seemed to darken as his laughter ceased. "Oh well, I'll just have to kill him now."

Temari jumped up and grabbed onto her brother. "No, not now. We were completely annihilated; everyone retreated. If we go back now, the minute we step into the village our lives would be forfeit. Let's go home, give our little brother a proper burial, and then we can figure out how to get him justice."

Neither one of them entertained the thought that perhaps this was the justice for all the lives their brother had taken. They couldn't afford to think like that. When you are wounded and scared, getting angry always feels better than looking at yourself.

Kankuro didn't say a word to acknowledge the sandy blonde; he just bent down and picked up the red head, in a gesture more intimate that he ever gave the boy while he was alive, he cradled the boy to his chest.

-/-

Kakashi schooled his features as he entered the hospital room. He wasn't sure what to expect, because he wasn't quite sure what utensils to push chakra into the boys system would look like. He wasn't quite expecting what looked like extremely thin senbon to be scattered around the boy's abdomen attaching to a multitude of wires that hooked into what looked like a large modem on the ceiling. There was an IV pumping saline through a slow drip in each of the boy's arms. A tube was protruding from the boy's mouth and branched off to attach to a large machine. The machine made this swooshing noise in intervals. He realized that with each 'swoosh' Naruto's chest would rise before gently falling.

Beside the machine causing the boy's chest to bounce softly up and down, there was absolutely no movement from the boy. Not even a twitch of a finger or eyelid. As sad as the sight was to take in, a small smile graced the man's lips: his student wasn't blue anymore.

Walking up to the bed, Kakashi sighed. How had this happened? Hadn't he sealed away the curse mark? Why had it been able to take over the boy? Had he not done the seal properly? Could he have prevented this?

Closing his eyes, the older male looked up to thank the medic for doing everything he could, when he noticed the male was gone. He scolded himself for being so caught in his own thoughts he didn't even notice the other male leave.

Turning his attention back to Naruto, he stared at the blonde hair of his sensei and willed the boy to show him those beyond blue eyes. His wishing was interrupted as the door was opened violently and slammed into its frame. His eyes took in the sight of a frantic Sasuke.

His reflexes kicked in fast enough to grab the boy before he could reach the blonde. He held the flailing Uchiha in a tight grip.

"Let me go Kakashi!" Sasuke kicked at the older male and attempted to pull his arms enough to swing at him. "Let me see my brother."

"You need to calm down, Sasuke," the sensei attempted to placate. "He is very delicate right now. You can't touch him. You need to be calm before you approach him."

"I have to wake him up! He has to wake up!" the raven haired male fought even harder against his teacher's grip. "Naruto! Wake up, this isn't funny. Ha, ha, you got me okay. You got me, now just wake up!" The boy was screaming at the top of his longs.

"Sasuke, breathe, Sasuke." Kakashi pulled his head to the side to dodge a fist that was attempting to connect with his chin. His shin however was not as lucky as a foot made solid contact. "Naruto isn't sleeping. He is very sick right now. You can't try and wake him up, that will make things worse." He didn't think he was getting through to the male at all. He took on a stern voice, "Sasuke you need to calm down right now."

"Don't you fucking tell me to fucking calm down!" Sasuke spat as he wriggled around and began to attempt to bite the older male. "My brother needs me!" he cried out in a panicked voice.

The Hatake clenched his jaw as teeth gnawed at his arm. Having had enough, he brought down a quick chop to the boy's neck. The fighting immediately stopped as the boy went limp in his arm. Sighing, he set the boy in the chair offered for guests. Kakashi shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. He could understand why Sasuke was acting the way he was: when his father has died he locked himself in a room with the body and attached everyone that attempted to remove his father's corpse. It wasn't until Minato came that they were able the tame the boy into submission.

Understanding the boy's chaotic emotions did not make it easier to handle. Pressing the call light that rested on the wall near the bed, Kakashi waited for the nurse to enter.

"Yes, can I help you?" a kind looking woman asked as she entered the room.

Motioning towards Sasuke's form, he sighed. "He didn't take seeing his brother in this way very well. Is there a way you could set him up in the family room with something to calm his nerves? I'm just a little worried he might do something stupid."

The woman began to nod quickly as she saw the unconscious boy. She hurried out of the room and returned with a wheelchair.

Once they were out of the room, Kakashi sighed again- he had been doing that a lot lately. "You kids," he said while shaking his head and staring at the blonde. "No wonder I already have gray hair."

"You think that is something, ha! Wait 'til the gray is chased away and all that is left is white!" came a booming voice from behind the male.

Kakashi whirled around to take in the sight of the legendary Jiraiya standing there in all his glory. "When did you get here?"

"Well I showed up a bit before the exams so I could do some research. Lo and behold the village was in danger. I was glad to be here to help." The white haired male had crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" The jounin moved his eye around to emphasize he was talking about the hospital room.

"The Hokage is dead," his voice came out blunt.

Schooling his features, Kakashi's face became serious. He had thought with all the medical attention he was receiving he would be fine. "I see."

"They wanted me to take the position," he allowed his statement to hang there a moment. "But, I was thinking," Jiraiya drifted off as his eyes wandered to the blonde, "Perhaps Tsunade would be more suited."

The younger male's eye widened in understanding. "You mean?"

"With the elders giving me the means to do so, I should be able to find her in no time and with the responsibility of Hokage forcing her to return. Well I think it is just about the right time for the woman of medical miracles to come home."

Kakashi couldn't help but grin behind his mask. The words the doctor had replayed in his head: _"Besides a miracle? I don't know."_ "Miracle, huh?" The Hatake watched as the older male stared at Naruto. "Why haven't you been around?" he did his very best to keep his voice from being accusing.

"He had a family. Who was I to come in and mess up that dynamic?" Jiraiya sighed as if sensing what the other male wanted to ask. "After the massacre, I didn't know what I was supposed to do in that situation. I didn't know how to comfort that sort of pain. Plus if I did come take him where would that have left Sasuke?" Shaking his head, he crossed his arms tighter. "It is actually why I was coming back. I figured even if he didn't make Chunin, Sasuke would. I was going to take him on a training trip and teach him his father's jutsu."

Kakashi moved to place a reassuring hand on the older male's shoulder. "You will just have to make that trip when he wakes up."

Jiraiya laughed and was happy for the smile that remained on his face. "I guess you are right, kid. Oh, there was one more thing." Reaching into his cloak he pulled out a scroll and held it out for the other to take. "Courtesy of the elders."

Taking the scroll, he quickly read its contents. They were sending him on a mission already? Turning sad eyes to his student, he ruffled Naruto's blonde locks. "Let's make this a race kid, you wake up before I get back from this mission and I'll buy you all the ramen you can eat." There was no response from the little Uchiha, but that didn't stop the smile that graced Kakashi's features. "Hurry up and bring Tsunade back."

"Yeah," Jiraiya called as he looked at all the machines he god son was attached to, "I'm going to be as fast as I can."

-/-

Konohamaru chucked the desk drawer at the wall. Grabbing a fistful of papers, he began ripping them to pieces. A pained scream tore from his body as he threw his arms across the top of the desk knocking everything off.

Huffing at his actions, he began to stomp and kick at everything on the ground. Yanking at the second drawer, that one two slammed into a wall. He fell to his knees and began violently ripping at all the papers scattered there while screaming, "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

He and his mom had barely returned home to assess the damage when an ANBU appeared on their doorstep to inform them that his grandfather had died in battle. It was policy to inform the family before announcing the death of any shinobi to the public. Upon hearing he had rushed to the Hokage tower and locked himself in his grandpa's office.

"Why!" he cried out while mashing the paper in his hands into a tiny ball and chucking it across the room. "You weren't supposed to die! I was supposed to surpass you! I hate you! I hate you!"

Failing to fight back the tears, streams poured down his face and intermingled with the snot running from his nose. "I hate you," he whimpered out without and conviction as he slammed his fist against the destroyed papers.

Outside of the room, Asuma leaned against the wall. He couldn't bring himself to stop his nephew from destroying the Hokage's office. There wasn't much that couldn't easily be repaired and replaced. If this is how the kid wanted to deal with his grieving, who was he to stop him? Everyone handled death in their own way. Asuma's eyes darkened slightly as he brought a cigarette to his mouth. "I hate you!" came through the doors.

Pounding his fist once again against the papers, Konohamaru fell to a heap as he gulped in deep breaths. He was mentally and physically exhausted from his tantrum. He fought to keep his eyes open, but ultimately lost and fell to a dreamless sleep.

Among the wreckage and devastation that he caused, the boy slept. Completely unaware that if he had simply read one of the papers before ripping it to unreadable shreds, that he would have been validated to his mom and his best friend would have been free from his brother's abusive clutches.

* * *

**A/N:** Double Badabam! Man my muses are on a roll and like all hi-yah and stuff. (Kind of on a super feeling awesome high from defeating writers block). Bwahahaha I am so excited about this story being all like pa-cha. (I don't even think I am making sense now.

I would really, really, really, really, like your feedback. What you think of what is happening? What you would like to see happen? Any questions about what has happened? Any characters you want to see more of? Dislikes, likes, hobbies? Well, you get my point.

Before you kill me, I am sorry and Gaara is one of my favoritest characters, but I had to for the story, it is just how it had to be.

So, tell me what you think and all that jazz. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you have enjoyed!

Thanks and Tata!

_**Boe**_


End file.
